C'est la Vie
by NepgyaHeart
Summary: After winning a school raffle, Eloise Damon embarks on a journey through Unova. Through reluctance, hesitation, trial and error, her brother pushing her to her limits, and her friend Sylviana holding her hand to guide her, Eloise bumbles her way to pyrrhic victory. Finally having friends, becoming outspoken, and liking pokémon didn't hurt, though.
1. Start of Something Different

I felt indifferent towards pokémon, really.

My first real interaction with a pokémon was in third grade. It was me and some other kid's turn to care for the class petilil after school. Instead of excitement, I felt endangered as the grass-type shot shaky leech seeds at the both of us when she got startled at my presence. One wrapped around the both of our ankles and wouldn't let go for a while. Didn't hurt or scar, though.

The next year, someone accidentally kicked the class lillipup, causing him to run around the room and tackle everything in sight, including me. The hit actually made me fall down and kiss the floor. And the next year? The class purrloin stole my pencil case and almost gave me a panic attack when I told my teacher, who shamed me for being a tattletale and not trying to ask the dumb cat nicely (which I actually did. I never got it back, by the way). These three incidents happened to other classmates, of course, but I carried a particular lasting annoyance from the experiences. Those three pokémon were selected for the classroom setting, and I managed to get on all of their bad sides. What did that say about me?

My friend Sylviana said it was because I didn't smile that every class pokémon didn't really like me. My brother said that it was because I was fat and made the floor shake with every step I took, making each pokémon scared of me. If I had to guess, they both were probably right.

The last major interaction I had with a pokémon of similar nature was about five years ago. My brother, halfway through college, depressed, moody, and directionless, came home with a pawniard he caught. It was right after our mom gave him an ultimatum of going on a pokémon journey or getting a job, both of which he had never experienced before. He chose the former after a bunch of arguing.

The night he brought the pawniard home, the thing took an interest in me. He stared me down despite me being well bigger than him, and kept faking stabs at me with his sharp arms whilst laughing. Or whatever that weird breathy noise he made was. My brother kept watching his first pokémon and, at my pain, smiled continuously for the first time since entering college.

After that, I didn't have to deal with annoying pokémon in my life at all, except for the dumb pidove that tried to make a nest on the balcony outside my window every summer, or when my brother visited home and sent out one of his seemingly sadistic pokémon whenever I went into the room. I still felt indifferent to pokémon. I just didn't really care.

Despite that, I somehow wound up in this situation: standing opposite my friend Sylviana on a battlefield with a tepig as my partner. At the upper end of seventeen, I was starting my pokémon journey about eight years above the national average age of ten. Sad, ain't it?

I managed to win a school raffle that allowed me to go on a journey in place of a year of school, held every year with one winner. I would have called myself the ultimate lucky student, but I wasn't. The pool of students included only those who never went on a journey before. This year, I ended up being the only person in the school who never attempted going on a journey somehow. I should have just lied on that survey I had to take on the first day of school. Thus, I won. And they wouldn't take no for an answer.

The tepig was part of the deal, but really? A tepig? How cruel. They had to give a pig a pig, of course.

It wasn't like I was going to reject it, though. After what happened at the end of last year, I was too scared to go back to school.

"I'll go easy on you, El!" Sylviana threw her hair over her shoulder. For the first time this year, it was back to her natural blonde. I guessed she got bored of glitter green.

"Not like it'll make a difference," I said to myself. The tepig looked raring to go, not realizing how hopeless this battle was.

By Sylviana's feet was her dearly beloved sylveon. Although she never told me much about the journey she had a few years ago, I did know that her pokémon were unusually strong. Something about intense training with the guy she toured Unova with, I recalled her telling me. The pink thing beside her was no exception.

With the snap of her trainer's fingers, the sylveon leapt forth, face morphing from angelic to smug. "You can go first. Remember, whoever gets a good hit in first wins no matter what."

Ah, the little game of "one hit outs" or whatever it was called, meant to serve as our handicap. It still wouldn't help, I knew.

This tepig knew ember and tackle, and was a girl. That was all I was told when I was given her. The only chance we had of winning was spamming ember and hoping it landed. There was no way anything else was going to work.

Sylviana shook in anticipation across from me. I took a deep breath and tried to bring myself to shout. Right before I opened my mouth, everything hitched in my throat, and all I did was say quietly, "Ember."

"What was that, El? It's not fair if I can't hear your commands." Actually, wasn't that legitimate strategy in battles? There was no official rule against it, as far as I knew. And I read the basic trainer's manual last night, so I knew. Anyway, the tepig drove home Sylviana's point by turning around and tilting her head. She hadn't heard me either? This would be a problem. I couldn't bring myself to speak any louder if I wanted to. It was too embarrassing.

"Em-ember." I tried again. At least this time was a little louder and steadier, ignoring the stumble. But, it still sucked. The tepig looked at me again with lost written all over her face. I went to try again, but didn't get to.

"I guess we'll go, then, El. Don't have all day!" Sylviana had no patience. I knew this to be true. As well as that she would jump at any opportunity to win. "It'll be fast. Celeste!"

It was my turn to look confused. Last time I heard, Celeste was Destiny, and that was a week ago. Last month, I think she was Valentina. Last year, probably Penelope. Anyway, in the beginning, she was Angel.

"Grab that tepig, then use swift!" Celeste's ribbons shot out across the field and wrapped around the tepig, holding her in place. I would admit that I blanked out right there to rack my brain and ponder, _What the hell move is swift_?

It sounded familiar, yet I hadn't a clue. It couldn't have been a buff given the context. It didn't matter since I found out the hard way. Celeste yanked the tepig closer to her as she charged some move. The next thing I saw was a string of sharp stars shooting out, straight at the tepig. The first one hit and the tepig cried out in pain. I could have sworn Celeste started reeling her in faster at that. All I could do was stand awkwardly and let it happen. And let that be seared into my mind as the move swift.

The second star landed, but elicited no sound other than a solid thump. The next however-many followed suit. What was left on the battlefield was a tepig crumpled on the ground and a sylveon wagging her tail, waiting to be doted on. Celeste clapped her ribbons together behind her as if they were dirty.

Sylviana jumped to shower Celeste with affection. Meanwhile I walked over to the tepig the slowest I could while biting my lip. Once I stood next to her, she groaned and rolled over. Her eyes opened, and, instead of glaring at me or any angry reaction I expected since I kind of let her get hurt, she softly oinked and tried to stand.

What did I feel from that? Well, what was I supposed to feel? I felt pretty shitty since she got hurt, but what was I supposed to do about it? All I did was pull out the potion Sylviana gave to me earlier and spray it all over the tepig. Once I used the whole bottle, she sprung up and wagged her tail like nothing happened. Well, potions only provided temporary pain relief, so let's see her energy in about an hour.

Hoo, boy, if this tepig's personality was going to be like Sylviana's, like it looked like, there would be a problem somewhere down the line.

"You did great, El." I stared at Sylviana and slouched further over. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. Though, even though I accepted that as fact, it didn't really light a fire under me or anything. It was just a little frustrating that this was going to be harder than it seemed.

"Sure." The tepig kept distracting me by bumping against my leg. I kept taking small inches away from her, but she stuck to me like a magnet. No one was this friendly or nice in reality. Something had to be up with her. Why couldn't she just have been as bland as I was?

Sylviana tapped her Xtransceiver, reminding me that we had to finalize the results of our battle. I pulled up mine and stared at the screen, an application called _Spar Star_ opened up. Two icons, a blue _Battle Completed_ and a gray _Forfeit_, appeared. I selected the former and was taken to a confirmation screen, then a screen with a green _Winner_ and a red _Loser_ icon.

"I won," she sang and tapped away. Then, Sylviana looked at me expectantly.

I slowly chose _Loser_ and watched as the icon filled the screen, the red background and black text creating a haunting sensation. My win-loss ratio of 0-1 came up next. Sylviana gave a small cheer and flashed her own screen in front of my face, her 74-5 ratio dwarfing mine. I should have been happy for her, but all I felt was bitterness. What other damn result did she expect?

Immediately, I was sent to a national victory leaderboard ranking all trainers in Unova registered to the app. Talk about insult to injury. I ranked 309,026,154th in the region, apparently, tied with a bunch of other people with the same or equivalent win ratio as mine. I didn't even think about checking out the cross-regional leaderboard. And that number, as absurd and specific as it was, kept repeating in my head.

"And now we wait." Sylviana bounced on her heels as she wore a satisfied smile.

"For what?" I managed to ask.

"Never mind." She pointed to the sky. A huge bird pokémon soared above, diving straight at us. It cawed just as I realized that there was someone holding onto one of its legs.

Closer and closer the two came until they were nearly on top of us. The pokémon was a braviary; I at least knew that. When he was about twenty feet above the ground, the person clutching the bird let go and started dropping down. The guy landed a few yards away from us on a knee and a hand in a pose that tried too hard to be cool. I kept wondering if he pulled anything and didn't want to admit it since he wasn't standing up yet.

"Ricky!" Sylviana walked over to the guy and drummed his shoulders. I was more worried about the fact that some random dude just dropped from the sky, and that his braviary was making his way towards me. Sylviana pulled the guy up while his pokémon stood just a foot away from me and kept cocking his head.

I took a small sidestep, nudging the tepig along with me away from the bird. He came closer and shoved his face in mine, beak nearly piercing my glasses and gouging my eye out, tongue wagging like no tomorrow. Wow, was this thing huge.

"Bomber, don't bother her." The guy yanked the braviary away by the neck and shook his head. "Sorry, he likes people." He returned Bomber to his poké ball after the bird whacked him on the back with a large wing in a _come on_ type of manner.

"Uh-huh." I slowly nodded like an idiot to glaze over that.

"This is my friend." Sylviana slapped the guy on the back right where Bomber had, then did the same to me. Boy, did she hit hard.

"Sure. Maverick." He stuck his hand out while staring off in some other direction. That was seriously his name? How hipster.

Reluctantly, I met his hand with mine and twitched it in the guise of a handshake. "Eloise."

"Lois? Nice meeting you." So close, yet so off. He turned around and didn't give me a chance to correct him. Not that I had the balls to do so, but still. Guess it was my fault, really, since I tended to slur and speak quietly. But he couldn't have at least pretended to care a little more?

"So-"

Maverick held a hand up and stopped her. "I'm going ahead. This is boring. Need to train more." He sure made a great first impression. "If you wanna follow me, go ahead, but I'm not holding your hand through Unova again, Sylvia."

So, he was the guy she traveled with before? I hadn't a clue why we encountered him, but I knew I didn't really want to see him again. Sylviana did, though. She pulled on his arm and groaned. "Stay and travel with us for a while. At least till Striaton."

"I'm not slowing down."

"You're not saying no. But hold up!" Surprisingly, Maverick stopped. "Let's have a battle. I'm bored. Let's give El a show, too."

He turned around and crossed his arms. "Seriously?"

"Yup. One hit outs."

"Hurry up." His words were curt. The way he held his forehead probably meant he didn't want to deal with Sylviana's pestering. When she wanted something, she usually got it.

"Not recording this one." Sylviana stood opposite Maverick and covered her Xtransceiver, screen still displaying her 74-5 ratio.

Wait, why did our battle have to be registered to _Spar Star_? Oh, yeah, I accidentally pushed buttons since I never used the app before and ended up pairing us together somehow.

"Fine by me. Just don't complain when you lose."

"Here we go, Dean!" Sylviana hurled a luxury ball, and out came her hydreigon. He hung his jaw loose and hovered surprisingly steadily considering his wing-to-body size ratio. "Who's a good boy?"

Dean let out a roar and smacked his lips. The sound caused the tepig by my leg to cower behind me. I shook my head as I heard the crinkling sound of a plastic wrapper. Sylviana whipped out a small cake to feed Dean. No wonder I caught that one huge filling in the biggest of his tiny teeth when he opened up.

"Whatever. Edge." Maverick lazily tossed a poké ball, and out came a bisharp. I couldn't put a finger on it, but this particular pokémon seemed kind of familiar. And not just because my brother had one. Something about the scratch on his head-axe.

**~X~**

The battle was riveting. I couldn't put it into words, but knew that Maverick won in just one move. Okay, actually, while Sylviana ordered Dean to charge in, Edge moved to use sucker punch and landed a hit, so he won. I would note that my brothers' bisharp was much faster and more precise than Maverick's appeared to be. From what I could tell, at least.

Maverick returned Edge and walked on after winning. Sylviana hurried to follow him, dragging me with her by the sleeve, yet pouting and grumbling to herself.

"This sucks." I hid my words in a sigh. I really didn't understand why I had to go all the way to Nuvema Town from Opelucid City to get the tepig for my journey instead of the school. At least when I got my eighth badge in Opelucid, I could head straight home and forget it all ever happened, if I planned things right.

It was a surprisingly short distance to Accumula Town. The whole trip, Sylviana and Maverick walked ahead side-by-side while talking about something I couldn't hear. I trailed them and tried my best to not lose them or look like a creep.

"No stopping," Maverick announced as we first stepped foot in the town. No issue there, except that my legs burned since he walked faster than I did. The tepig kept up without complaining.

As we walked on, I pulled some candy out of my bag. I really liked gum. I was known by my classmates as the person who always had gum to spare if asked for some. Not that I really wanted to share, but how rude would I be if I said no? It would be a weird flavor marketed to hyper kids under the age of ten, guaranteed. A hefty stash of the stuff nested in my bag, hiding from shame. The dense block-type gum called my name this time. Unwrapping it and discreetly tossing it in my mouth distracted me for about a minute.

The tepig squealed. I nearly forgot about her. Maybe I should have put a bell on her. Or just return her. The way she stared up at the wrapper in my hand made me stop chewing. She wanted a piece? Did she really? I shook a new block of gum in front of her to test my hypothesis. Again, she squealed.

Okay, maybe this tepig wasn't that bad. I kind of wanted to laugh.

It was artificial blue and smelled like chemicals. Was it even safe for her to try? I really didn't know what I was thinking, but to get her to stop bumping against me, I stopped walking, unwrapped the gum, and tossed it in her mouth. "Don't swallow it. Please just don't."

I shouldn't have given it to her. Who knew if she would listen to me, much less understand me. A wet smacking from her at least meant she didn't eat it yet. But, all things went wrong eventually. Not even a minute later, she cringed and groaned.

"Wait." The wrapper was in my hand, prepared for this very moment. "Here."

Before I could squat down and hold out the thing for her to spit it out in, she coughed and sent a small fireball shooting out to the stairs I saw Sylviana and Maverick finish ascending. Gum was at the center of it, soaring an unusually long distance.

A passing person almost made it into the line of fire. But it was too short to be a person. There was a mohawk, though. The gum flew just luckily enough to barely miss hitting the guy's hair.

"Too sour? Just hope he didn't notice that!" The flavor was sour blue raspberry. _Xtreme_, according to the package. All I could do was quicken my pace, hold the wrapper in my hand, and try to avoid meeting the person we almost set ablaze. He didn't actually get hit, though, so he wouldn't make a scene, yeah?

They guy stopped walking to roll his shoulders. As I passed him, I realized it was not a man, but some pokemon. With weird skin-pants and bared teeth for whatever reason.

I hadn't a clue what it was, but something else intrigued me more: it had a tattoo on its head, right under the mohawk. It was a black gyarados coiled into an infinity symbol. I stopped walking to ogle at the thing. On top of the tattoo, it even had a gold chain and bandanna around its neck. In its hand was one of those trilby hats, too. How that worked with the hair, I didn't know.

Swag. It had to have had a trainer. I needed to see the trainer so I could laugh at them. So badly did I want to laugh at the poor little guy, too. Someone had to tell me that I would see more pokémon like that in the future. Maybe then I would like them more.

Catching up to Sylviana came back to me, so I reluctantly turned away from the stunning specimen in front of me and went on. At the bottom of the stairs, the fireball sizzled out and a wad of half-chewed gum remained. One swift motion later, I climbed the stairs with an unusually warm blob of gum pinched between its wrapper in my fingers. The tepig groaned.

"Just hurry. I have other flavors." What an amazing sequence of events. With a spring in my step, I clamored up the stairs to keep up with Sylviana. Really, though, I wondered why I bothered saying that. How stupid did I sound?

She cried out with what I guessed was glee? What I said worked? Speed must have been this tepig's boon. Practically flying up the stairs, she made it to the top well before I did.

"Just follow them." Pointing at Sylviana's slowly disappearing back, I couldn't bring myself to return the tepig. _We're gum buddies?_ I thought, trying to make the best of my situation.

**~X~**

Striaton City was a step up from Accumula Town. The feeling I got when I entered it was much better, too. That was because Sylviana got tired and called a car service to bring us here shortly after I caught up to them (wasted gum disposed of properly, of course). She sure knew how to work her silver spoon.

"Let's go to the center." Pinching my sleeve, Sylviana dragged me to a large building with a red roof. We entered together through its automatic doors, Maverick leaving us to go wherever it was he wanted to. "I'm gonna go with Ricky for now. You can get your own room and do whatever you want. I'll find you later. Be back soon."

Sylviana left, and so did the excitement. As well as my lifeline. With the tepig by my side, I joined the line at the front desk. When five people stood in front of me, my heart started pounding. What was I supposed to say to the receptionist? Just _room for one, please_? That had to be it, right? But what if they were completely booked already? What if she couldn't hear me? Should I just have waited for Sylviana to come back to help me?

The woman first in line approached the desk. Then, in a flash, the man in front of me went up. Everyone in line had requested rooms, so I had to have been in the right place. My slouch became more obvious despite that knowledge.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the desk looked straight at me. The tepig nudged me and I dragged my feet to meet the lady.

"I'd like a single room." What happened? Like every other time something like this happened, I changed my answer last minute to something even wrong-er. My everything became numb. It suddenly became hot. I dug my fingernails deep into my palms and tried to ignore my blunder. Did what I say even make sense?

"For how long?"

There was more to this exchange? How long should I have expected to stay? Sylviana told me there was a gym here, but… "Three days." It was more of a question, but I couldn't bring myself to say any more.

"At 1,000 poké a night for private rooms, that'll be 3,000 poké, please."

I just nodded and mechanically took three 1,000 poké bills out of my bag's inside pocket. Without any slip-ups, to my benefit. It was a good thing Sylviana told me that in centers, pokémon healing was free, but food and board was not; otherwise, I would have frozen like an idiot at her response. I didn't even remember what happened after I took the money out, just that I wanted the exchange to be over.

The tepig got me out of my daze again. I found myself in a hallway lined with rooms by some miracle. In my hand was a card key and receipt for the room I got. Well, the purchase could have been more painful. And the room was pretty cheap. But, I was pretty sure that poké centers were in cahoots with whatever luxury hotels existed nearby them in terms of profit, so that probably evened it out. Either that or taxes.

I was only left with 7,000 poké that my mom gave me, though. According to my brother and Sylviana, I was supposed to win battles to get more money. But I was already exhausted. I checked my Xtransceiver, and it was only just past noon; I got my tepig in Nuvema Town at around eight this morning.

Finding and entering my room, ignoring some flyer posted on the door, was much easier than paying for it. I let the tepig in first. Order existed in the room. No dust or stains showed themselves from what I could see. Not even thinking, I turned the television on and sat on the bed like I did at home. The tepig managed to hop up beside me, and wagged her tail while watching the TV.

"This is gonna be a long day," I said to myself. The gum in my mouth muffled the words. Now I chewed two blocks.

The tepig… That bothered me. I couldn't even bring myself to think of her as my tepig. I also couldn't come up with a decent name for her. Everything in my head was either predictable, too cutesy, or too edgy. Sylviana loved naming her pokémon. She said it was her favorite part of getting a new partner.

Her Dean's name came from the fact that she got him as a _dein_o. She was still young when she got him, so his name wasn't too fabulous, and he got too attached to it when she came up with something better. I was pretty sure she named Celeste (or Angel or whatever) based on whatever name she wished she had herself. The sylveon always reacted positively to her new names. Like trainer, like partner, I assumed.

My brother called his pawniard, now a bisharp Miles. Apparently it was because when they started out on their journey, they passed by a gym with people running on treadmills facing the street. Miles went through the open door and tried running on a treadmill himself. Of course, he couldn't turn it on, so he ended up running into the window. It left an impression on my brother. He decided on Miles, and the pawniard liked it.

So what about this tepig? We had done nothing together, and the only thing I knew of her was that she didn't like sour gum. Speaking of, I opened a different flavor of gum and held a piece out to her. "This one's sweet, I think." Who didn't like strawberry?

If I was to be stuck with her, we might as well have found a common ground. To my surprise, she whipped her head away from the gum. So she didn't want any more? Guessed "Gummy" was out of the question for a name. And a word to the wise: strawberry and sour blue raspberry was not a good flavor combination.

I didn't bother going any further with that and instead changed the channel on the TV. Boring news, cartoons, and the like flashed by as I flicked stations to find something.

The tepig sat and watched the channels fly by. Hope she wasn't impressionable. "When I come up with a name for you, we'll go out and train." I decided on that. But since I was horribly indecisive, that declaration was just an excuse to procrastinate. "Probably."

A minute passed and I landed on _Cooking Network_. Any show on these food channels was entertaining, so I left it there. I checked the door and made sure it was closed. How embarrassing if someone walked in and saw us watching cooking shows.

The tepig hopped off the bed and plopped down right in front of the television, tail wagging and eyes glued to the screen. We had this in common, then.

A couple of commercial breaks later, I actually felt like going outside. The tepig, on the other hand, was enchanted by the cooking show.

"_The mystery ingredients were a doozy, but I'm pretty confident I can take that gross canned soup and turn it into a delicious, spicy broth. So I decided to make ramen for my entree_," the chef on TV said. "_I love, love, love spicy food. And the pantry had a bunch of beautiful peppers begging to be put in my soup. After I dumped the canned soup into a pot to heat up, I ran to the pantry_."

I sat back down to watch at least until the next commercial break. The tepig kept crying out. She sure was hype for something.

"_The pantry was pepper paradise. I took a big green bell pepper-_"

She oinked. I had to admit, her squeal was pretty cute.

"_-a few jalapenos-_"

Another oink.

"_-some poblanos_-"

Again, an oink.

"_-and serranos. Plus a lot of chili powders from the spice rack_." That was a pepper paradise to the chef? Had he never gone to a supermarket before?

A very loud oink.

I really didn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. So she liked peppers? Or maybe just the way they sounded? Maybe she liked the chef? Some commercial interrupted the show, but the tepig kept staring at the TV.

I had nothing to lose, so I played a little game. "Ghost."

An oink.

Quieter than it was, but I still got a reaction. "Cayenne."

She oinked again.

So I wasn't exciting enough? "Guajillo."

A flat oink.

Sarcasm or waiting for the show to start again? "Shishito."

An excited oink.

That was exotic-sounding enough for her. "Tabasco."

An explosive oink.

The commercials were still running, so she was reacting to me, yeah? My whole repertoire of pepper names exhausted, I then knew she liked peppers. That had to be it. I was too lazy to come up with anything else. So, I moved to stand next to her. When she looked up at me, I pointed at her and said lamely, "Pepper."

That was a legitimate name for some people. The tepig saved me grief by smiling and oinking.

"Sure, let's run with that." So there I was with my tepig Pepper. Damn, I came up with a name for her. And it was a food. I said that thing before, so we had to go try training now. "Let's go out now."

She shook her head, eyes still glued to the screen. How was I supposed to react to this?

"_And there are ten minutes left on the clock, chefs_."

Okay, maybe after the show was over would we go. Some forest stood to the east of Striaton, so we would be fine on time.

**~X~**

It was hot, humid, and grody in the forest beside Striaton. Deciding to just go in a straight line to not get lost, Pepper and I currently stood in an empty patch of land. "And there are pokémon where?"

At least no trainers showed themselves. On cue, I heard rustling in a nearby bush. Out came some rodent. I scanned it with the pokédex app _Stat Star _(sister app of _Spar Star_) on my Xtransceiver and knew it to be a patrat. He paid us no mind, however. "Come on, the only battle we had was with Sylviana. That doesn't even count."

"Go instigate that thing," I said with weird breaks between each word. Was this seriously how training went? Might as well just sign her up for a gym membership. Pepper snapped up and ran a small lap around the patrat.

He growled. We were just a nuisance to him? Not like I wanted to do this either.

What I thought didn't even matter. The battle started as Patrat charged at Pepper. Was this tackle? "Ember?" I said it at the same volume I had during out bout with Sylviana. But, I guessed since the area was so quiet, Pepper heard me this time around, even with the gum in my mouth. I still didn't know what I was doing. She only knew two moves, though, so how badly could this go?

Pepper took a deep breath, then sent out bits of fire, halting Patrat in his tracks. He ran in again, then leapt in the air with his mouth agape. His gnarly tooth glowed as he fell towards Pepper.

Pity I sucked under pressure. "Tackle?" Her ears perked a little. Was she straining herself to hear me? Or unwilling to follow my command? Boy, oh, boy, I was going to have to get used to not just talking, but talking loudly.

I meant my command, though. If this were like a video game or something, the bashing tackle would at least stun Patrat. Hopefully Pepper knew to avoid his tooth.

The tooth was of no worry as Pepper smashed into Patrat right after I blinked. Bouncing back and landing perfectly, she wore a satisfied smile. Meanwhile, Patrat grumbled, rubbing his face where Pepper nailed him. Running away became his next move.

"Wait-" I cut myself off. I intended to stop Patrat from escaping to have Pepper wail on him until kingdom come? "Forget it. Who's next?" I asked no one.

Pepper cried out. In the direction she faced was another patrat. "Here we go again."

**~X~**

A pink blob drifted behind a rusted chain link fence we walked along to get back to the city just as the sun started setting.

"What a space case." It floated into the fence, bounced off of it, then changed its path by a 30-degree angle. They collided again shortly after. "Is it brain dead?"

I scanned it with _Stat Star_ and learned it was a munna. "Do I do anything about this?" He kept ramming into the fence like he was programmed to. "There's a hole for him to get out through like a foot away from him. Just get in there!"

"Ah..." he droned. What a strange sound.

Such a travesty, one that I kept watching for some reason. _Just until he gets out_, I told myself.

Finally, Munna adjusted himself to bump through the hole in the fence. Except it actually was _just_ too small for him to get through. If he actually tried to squeeze through it, he probably would have made it, but it was like he was being pushed by the wind and nothing more. "Good God, are you alive? How haven't you died yet?"

The brainless smile he wore didn't help him. He just kept wiggling against the hole. "No, wait, he's actually stuck." Indeed he was. The munna was just barely moving, not even worried about being trapped in there. "Do I do something about this?"

I meant, it wasn't my job to do that. Plus, I didn't want to touch him, period. Who knew if I would hurt him, gross myself out, or agitate him. Pepper jumped and hit my bag with her head, specifically the side pocket I put her poké ball in.

"Do what now?" So I was listening to Pepper? How the tables had turned. Next, she rubbed against a hole in the fence on the ground.

"Don't you get stuck too."

Contrary to my prediction, Pepper squeezed through to the other side with ease. I stood juggling Pepper's poké ball and an empty one Sylviana gave me in my hand. Pokémon got sucked into poké balls when returned. If I caught this munna, at least temporarily, could I "save" him?

I almost wanted to walk away (hooray for inaction), but Pepper waited on me. And the sight was too sad to leave alone. "Prepare thyself."

"Ah..." he droned. Still pretty empty up there.

With no grace or sense of urgency, I tossed the poké ball at Munna. He went in without trouble, and the ball traveled through the hole, landing right beside Pepper. "Why didn't I just hold the ball? That would have been easier. But then it wouldn't have been cool!" What a revelation.

Pepper didn't complain as she nudged the ball and pushed herself through the hole she entered. I took it and sent Munna out. Immediately after coming out, he started drifting back towards the hole. In a panic, I returned him, did a 180-degree turn, and sent him back out again. "Well, see ya. Don't get stuck again."

For some reason, he stopped moving. "You can go if you wanna now." Pepper grunted in what I assumed was agreement.

Still, he didn't leave. Seriously? But I didn't want him. I only caught him to save us all from embarrassment. Pepper must have felt the same way by how much she was oinking.

"Go. Please. Now."

"Ah..."

"I'm too tired for this!" Could he take a hint? "Oy vey. If your gonna get stuck again, just come."

How did this come to be? Why did I think he was going to be a parasite or something? I started walking away, Pepper following closely. Munna drifted in our general direction slower than my brain was operating at the moment. Slowing down to a crawl, I waited for him to catch up to return him. "Sylviana will like you. Pink and cute. She'll take you off my hands."

"Ah..." He either didn't understand or was extremely indifferent.

"Pick up the pace. I don't care how, just get here." I stopped walking. This was torture in its own right.

My wish was granted in a way. Loud cooing came from nearby. Pepper oinked in that direction. An alert one was she. A pidove perched on a tree with its wings spread open.

"No, get away, you vermin." The pidove that marked my balcony every year made me sick whenever I head a coo. Every time they landed there, I had to be the one to chase them away because I was the only person in my family bothered by them. They exhausted me. And they were loud. I got jump-scared when they started crooning. Every single damn time. "Fuck off!"

It left the branch it perched on and soared towards me at mach speed. I gained the courage and stupidity to take a stance ready to punch it if it came near. Except it didn't. Munna stood between us, and the pidove aimed right for him.

Pepper oinked with urgency. Sounded like a warning, one that Munna didn't process in time.

It cooed, then became a gray blur charging at Munna like he was some toy, leaving behind a white speed trail.

"Pepper, do something." I sure as hell hadn't a clue.

Too late. The rat with wings collided with Munna and sent him flying in my direction. At least he came closer faster than he would on his own. My reflexes kicked in for once and I managed to return him just before he hit me.

Pepper cried out. "I know, right?" I pretended she complimented me.

The bird flew a small distance away. But when I looked at it, instead of being annoyed, I started laughing. Probably because Munna annoyed me more than it.

"Thanks. Less work for me." I shook his ball in the air. But then, Pepper assumed a battle stance.

"Wait, you wanna battle that thing? Let's just run away. I don't wanna do this." She didn't move.

So she was like that, huh? Unable to come up with a way to get out of this mess, I scanned the pidove. Ms. Pidove, it turned out. The dex portrait was pretty cute. The actual thing? Not so much. "How'd we piss you off? You're not even native to this area. Do I have a pidove curse or something?"

Not missing a beat, she flapped her wings, strong enough that a small whirlwind formed and aimed for Pepper.

"That's gust? Well, then… Dodge?" _Assertive_ was not in my vocabulary. All I could do was pray Pepper could execute my commands excellently.

Pouncing into the air with leg strength I couldn't have guessed she had, Pepper just missed getting grazed by the wind. I had to dodge myself since I was the next thing in the gust's line of fire. And by dodge, I meant stiffly run about three steps to the left.

"Tackle." Pepper dashed towards the dove and leaped at the last second, bumping into the bird. Pidove fell out of the air and splat to the ground. Following this, her eyes narrowed and she charged for Pepper. No light stream followed her, meaning that she wasn't using that move.

"Do we do anything about this?" Although not apparently a move, Pidove's full-body hit pushed Pepper back. It looked really stupid, quite actually, like a balloon bouncing off a wall. I didn't bother suppressing the laugh coming out. What was she doing? We only hit her once. Could she be any less threatening right now? "Tackle."

Back and forth, back and forth they went. Pepper was doing alright, so I didn't say anything. Exchanging hits was all it was. It got old fast. "Okay, just end it. Ember."

Instead of going in for another charge, Pepper hopped back and took a deep breath. Similarly, Pidove took flight and charged a move herself. Cloaked in white the next instant, Pidove swooped in with what I assumed was quick attack. "Any time now." Pepper was going to get hit no matter what with that move. If ember got out, it would at least cushion the blow.

Luck shone through for us in the middle of Pidove's attack. Once she made it to about two yards from Pepper, she stopped for some reason. Recovering from her dead stop seamlessly, she spun around in what I thought was her checking her surroundings. Pepper relaxed and forgot about ember as she watched Pidove in intrigue alongside me.

"Another space case?" Disappointing. Wasn't she just super hostile?

She lost me with this. After going for a second spin-around, Pidove did a slow, clunky, 360-degree rotation along the vertical axis. A pompous chirp escaped her, followed by a shaky descent to the ground. Once landed, she took a bow for no one and tilted her head up in the air as if she pulled off some badass stunt. Which she didn't.

I reopened _Stat Star_. "Yup, they've got bad memories." That didn't really explain her behavior, but whatever. Pepper looked at me with her head tilted. "I feel you deeply, man. So what to do about her?"

Pidove stretched her wings like a human flexed their muscles. We were completely forgotten. I wasn't aware this could happen. "Hey, uh, is it bad if I kinda wanna catch her right now?"

Cheeks puffed out and twitching her right ear (which I just noticed had a small scratch on it, most likely from Pidove's beak in their bumping match), Pepper nodded. Cut me some slack.

"I mean, that's kinda charming in a way. I like her better than Munna, at least." I disliked him more than I should have. Empty poké ball in hand, I took aim at Pidove. "Hold still. Or fly away. Whatever you want."

I waited a good minute for the bird to move, but she didn't. So, I flung the poké ball through the air, hitting Pidove square on the head. "Oh, no, you need those brain cells!" Should have aimed lower. "It's fine..."

Without issue, Pidove went into the ball to stay. Hey, I was doing pretty alright. Was this a proud moment? Either way, I made sure my two newly-occupied poké balls went into my bag safely, then took out another potion Sylviana gave me to heal Pepper. "Not too bad today."

**~X~**

"Why are we here?" Maverick crossed his arms and glared at Sylviana.

He took the words right out of my mouth. After yesterday ended on a nice note for me, I didn't expect to find myself seated in the Striaton gym on only the second day of my journey. But, Sylviana insisted, constantly assuring me that it would be fine. Easy for her to say. I hadn't even had my first real trainer battle yet. As if I stood a chance of winning. But, Sylviana sure loved pushing me to my limits.

"Battle, duh." As careless and lackadaisical as ever. Sylviana turned her attention to me. "Don't be so nervous, El. When the waiter comes, just ask for a gym battle."

"Gym battle? Wait, isn't this place-"

Maverick got cut off by a man in a tux with blue hair in strands like they were made of clay approaching out table. He bowed and offered a smile. "Hello. I hope you are all doing well today. Welcome to Striaton Restaurant. My name is Cress, and I'll be your server today. How may I help you?"

Instead of giving an order, Sylviana elbowed me and nodded. "I got you." She winked, then turned to the waiter. "Excuse me, but my friend wants to challenge you to a battle."

As expected, Sylviana had said that loudly. Her voice commanded attention. I darted my eyes around as Sylviana put her arm around my shoulders, noticing a few people staring at our table. At least I didn't have to say it myself now, which I was thankful for.

"Is that so?" Cress lowered his arms which had been holding a pen and notepad.

"Mm-hm, a gym battle!" Sylviana was more excited for this than me.

I felt my face set ablaze and looked straight down. What a nightmare this became. Sylviana elbowed me again, egging me on. "Y-yeah, I-"

Before I could muster the ability to speak properly, Cress looked at me and gave a professional smile. "I apologize, but I believe you are mistaken. Striaton City no longer has a gym. We are not registered with the League anymore."

His smile was too perfect, and so were his words. Who knew what he was actually thinking. Probably _what a dumbass_. Putting me down gently? No matter how he phrased it, I just felt like an idiot in that moment. Why did Sylviana have to speak for me, and so definitively?

Awkward silence overtook us until I realized Cress was waiting for a response. "Y-yeah, I understand and apologize." Hopefully I said it loud enough so I wouldn't have to repeat it.

"No worries at all. However, although we cannot offer a gym match, we do offer regular battles if you wish. We encourage them to entertain all parties in Striaton Restaurant."

"No, thank you," I forced myself to say.

"With that out of the way, may I take your order?"

Wallowing in embarrassment and misery, I paid Sylviana no mind as she spoke. I wanted to leave so badly. Was I the only one feeling like shit?

"El, I'm sorry. I really didn't know about that."

Oh, Sylviana. How I wished she would think before she acted on my behalf. As much as she meant well, I wanted nothing more than to disappear. "It's fine."

Shortly after, Cress came back with a basket of cookies and a pot of tea. Indulging myself was the last thing on my mind. I couldn't bring myself to eat in public, anyway. The moment the cookies hit the table, however, a stinging sensation traveled up my nose to my throat. I could tell there were peanuts in them, and I was badly allergic to them.

"Won't you have some, El?" Sylviana waved a cookie in front of my face.

I covered my nose and looked back down. "I'm allergic."

"Oh, yeah. Whoops, I'm sorry. I always forget!" On the flip side, Sylviana loved peanuts.

Peanuts were the least worst thing to happen so far today, though. Breathing shallow breaths through my mouth while turned in the other direction made them a nonissue. "Sure."

"Ooh, you know what?" Dropping her half-eaten cookie, Sylviana waved Cress back.

"Is there anything else?" he asked.

"Are we done yet?" I caught Maverick groaning across from us.

"Yeah, there is. I wanna have a battle!" Sylviana proclaimed while standing up. Heads turned to the bold girl wearing a confident smile. Excited murmurs broke out, even.

"Really? We haven't had a battle here in a while." Cress waved at two other waiters at this news. This wasn't how he reacted to my supposed challenge. Or was it?

"Yeah, and I want a challenge. Is there a rotation field here?" I had a textbook definition of what that meant.

"Yes we do. Why?"

"Let's have fun. I wanna have a rotation battle!" Again, she was loud. More people struck up side conversations pertaining to battles.

"How interesting. We've never had to break out our rotation field before!" Cress looked back at the two waiters he addressed before. "Why don't we up the ante? How about me and my brothers against you in a three-on-three rotation battle right now?"

Cress knew how to work a crowd. Several cheers burst out, and I saw a banner drop down from the balcony seats, which must have been there the entire time. They had a home team fan club here? Way to bully someone into not backing out.

"Okay!"

The next thing I knew, I saw two large metal disks rise from the ground in the open space at the back of the restaurant. It was then that I noticed white tape set up to mark a battlefield on the floor. Sylviana skipped to take her place. Cress and the two men he kept glancing at stood opposite her.

Was this seriously happening? So convenient, like it was a cartoon. How serendipitous it worked out like this. I knew this to be true: Sylviana thrived in the spotlight. Attention fueled her. When eyes fell on her, she was invincible. So unlike me. She would do a lot of things to be noticed, and she loved every second of it.

All I could do was sit back and see what would happen. That was all I really knew how to do well.

**~X~**

Somewhere in the notebook I carried around with me, hidden in my bag was this poem:

You call me your friend,

I pretend to be.

You hold my hand,

I let you, reluctantly.

You tell your stories,

I pretend to listen.

You take the spotlight,

I see you as a work of fiction.

Behind you, you leave many doors open,

and instead of slipping in, I close them.

You're so far ahead, chasing dreams.

I stay behind, again and again.

You say you got my back

and hold your baited hand out to me.

I tell myself you're lying

and throw it all away.

Sylviana, I'm sorry I feel this way about you. You're just too good to be true. But, like my thoughts and words, it'll be kept under lock and key and never see the light of day again.

* * *

Author's note: And so we begin. With my first journey fic, I hope things'll take off nicely. I want to try to include a poem like above in every chapter end, keeping in mind that Eloise "wrote" them.

I actually have a few chapters pre-written, so here's to trying to update regularly. I'll try to keep chapters a little shorter than this one, with only a couple story beats happening. This one is busy just to set the scene. Anyway, thank you for reading.


	2. First Time for Everything

The lights dimmed as several patrons ran from their seats to crowd around the battlefield. From my chair, which I refused to leave since I was still simmering from my earlier embarrassment, I managed to lean back enough to get a perfect view of the scene before me.

Three spotlights came on and aimed straight down, illuminating three waiters standing side-by-side in the darkness, each one with hair of a primary light color. A fourth spotlight shot down and revealed Sylviana. How showy. In front of Sylviana and the waiter in the middle, which happened to be Cress, was a control panel with only a dial, three small black screens set at 120-degree intervals around the wheel, and a timer.

If I knew right (which I did because I did a report about rotation battles for a class last year), the dial turned the rotation plates and the screens would show which pokémon was in what position. Three pokémon would represent each side, and only the center pokémon could spar. The center could only be switched via rotation by the control panel, only operable for one use once the timer reached zero, which got reset after the trainers decided to rotate or pass. The timer limit was two minutes.

I had gotten nearly every fact correct except the time limit, in this case, according to the numerous rules the referee listed off with surprising gusto. For this exhibition match, the limit was only one minute.

Rotation battles were also all the rage in gambling circles. They tended to be unpredictable and quick. What was Sylviana's plan with proposing a rotation battle? Probably just to show off.

"Why don't we go first?" the waiter with green hair suggested.

"I couldn have said it better myself, Cilan." Cress, who had disappeared for a second, walked over with a cloche in hand. I didn't think his response really applied, but whatever.

"Let's do this!" The one with red hair removed the cover, revealing three poké balls. Each man took one and assumed their positions.

"Calm down, Chili. Now, let us begin." Cress took a bow, then followed his two companions. In complete sync with one another, the three men tossed their poké balls to the rotation platform. From each one came a human-sized monkey with colors matching their trainers.

Without missing a beat, not letting the eyes on her best her, Sylviana winked and tossed three luxury balls out in one motion. I recognized all of the 'mon who looked back at their trainer to figure out what they were supposed to do.

"Just stand on the plate. Dean, take the front." Sylviana looked unfazed. I watched as Dean the hydreigon fluttered over to hover at the head of the rotation pad, opposite Cress's (according to _Stat Star_) simipour. Her cinccino Micky and swanna Odette seemed to have dragged their feet to stand to the left and right of Dean, respectively. "Please, Odette."

Those three plus Celeste were the only pokémon I knew Sylviana had for sure. Anyone else, I never met. Though, I found it strange that in the several years since Sylviana came back from her journey, I only ever saw Dean and Celeste on occasion. Then Sylviana hadn't kept up with training and junk. So, was she going to win? I didn't know.

My thoughts were broken as the referee belted out, "Battle begin."

"How about you take the first move, dear?" Cilan gestured with an arm for Sylviana to go.

"Thunder fang!" She went in for the kill. I knew the type-advantage chart well enough. Dean's mouth glowed yellow, sparks flying out every which way, as he charged straight for the water monkey.

Though, that kind of confused me: what was battle etiquette? Unrelentlessly using super-effective moves against the opponent? Or using them in moderation? The former was cheaper, but it had a higher chance of winning, for sure. Would I be looked down on for exploiting weaknesses like that? I guessed watching this battle would help me determine that.

"Rainie, dodge." Dean went for a chomp, but bit nothing but air as the simipour leaped back in a flash. The hydreigon had enough energy to try another time, then another, and another, all of which garnered the same result.

"Not fair!" Sylviana stomped a foot. Boy, was that monkey fast, like some blue blur.

A loud buzz went off, nearly making me fall out of my seat. "One minute has elapsed. Each side must decide on rotating or staying," the referee said.

"Stay." Sylvina squinted at her opponents, probably anticipating who would come up next.

On the other hand, a mechanical whirring came from the other side of the field. The rotation plate spun surprisingly quickly, going clockwise until the green monkey, the simisage or whatever, took Rainie's place.

"Our turn, Sprout," Cilan said as he and Cress hopped with grace to switch positions on their side.

"Flamethrower." Sylviana didn't waste any time. Just as the waiters' plate stopped spinning, a shot of wild fire hit Sprout dead-center. He yelped, leaping into the air. Unrelenting, Sylviana said, "Keep going."

"Hold yourself, Rainie," Cress called out, hands held palms-out to say _stop_. I glanced over to see the simipour holding his tail pointed towards the flaming grass-type, his back (the part not getting directly hit by flamethrower) on fire. Like, not even a small flame, but as if he had wings made out of them.

"It's alright. Sprout, slide in for low sweep." Cilan kept his composure. His simisage managed to stand tall, withstanding the move. Then, in one fluid movement, he dropped down and slithered towards Dean, fire extinguishing in the process. A swift kick made contact with Dean's round belly, ending the stream of fire shooting out. Like a sack of junk, Dean dropped to the plate and groaned.

"One minute has elapsed."

I heard two plastic ticks, Sprout jumping back to his spot with a clang, then the two plates turning clockwise. The red monkey and Odette faced each other. Sprout fell down to one knee, clutching at parts of his body where greenery once was.

"Shoot, guessed wrong," Chili said, trading places with Cilan.

"Scald!" Sylviana wasted no time. Her swanna, however, did. The bird craned her neck to the left and spread her wings to (slowly) stretch. "Odette!"

"Um, okay… Rock slide, Sunny!" Chili called.

Well, it was still a battle, so he shouldn't have showed mercy. But what was Odette's deal? I was pretty sure Sylviana absolutely spoiled her. From how many times Sylviana fawned over the poké-musical _Swanna Lake_ to me, I knew the bird was her favorite pokémon. Was that not the case?

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a rumbling. I looked to see a mini avalanche of rocks falling down to Odette. Only then did she move. The swanna snapped up and whipped her head, shooting out a jet of pressurized water (probably not scald) above from her beak. All rocks hit by the blast were either blown to bits or swatted away. Once everything hit the ground, Odette resumed her lazy stretching.

"One minute has elapsed."

Time sure was going quickly. It seemed like each side could only get in one move per round. Either that or the waiters were padding it out. I was pretty sure that Sunny could have gone in for another move after unleashing rock slide.

Again, both sides swapped pokémon. Rainie came back, and Sylviana's cinccino slowly stood up once the plate stopped spinning. "Mickey, attract."

Was Rainie even a girl? I didn't bother checking _Stat Star_ again. It didn't even matter. Similar to Odette, Mickey took his sweet time warming up. However, he didn't outright ignore Sylviana as he eventually struck a pose and winked, casting pink hearts to cross the battlefield.

"I'm afraid this is it for you." Cress and Rainie both pointed at Sylviana with a wink. "Go in for acrobatics."

Once again, Rainie's speed was showcased as he ("he" since he charged right through the hearts) darted for Mickey. In an instant, he appeared behind the cinccino and slammed him.

"Follow with hydro pump." The next second, Mickey was doused with water, eliciting a cry worse than before. But it probably wasn't from pain. His fur wilted, only becoming worse as he sat up to stroke it.

"One minute has elapsed." Couldn't this guy shake it up or something?

One tick resounded and Sylviana's plate spun to Odette. Mickey lay writhing in pain at the back, but eventually stood up. Well, the guy was small, and Rainie was pretty huge, so it stood to reason it did a little more than just hurt. I was impressed he wasn't knocked out.

The swanna cawed out, answered by a shaky response from Mickey. She then took a proud stance and stood at the edge of the plate, beak almost poking Rainie. She at least had camaraderie, I guessed?

"Crunch." Rainie leaped towards Odette, face gentle and calm. That was, until he came close enough to go in for the kill. He shot for her right wing, opening his mouth to reveal chompers ready and willing.

Odette's targeted wing glowed white. Sylviana immediately commanded, "Wing attack." With a twitch, just as Rainie was about to bite down, the swanna smacked the monkey in the face, right between his gaping maw, causing him to fly backwards. He landed face-down, one hand clutching his mouth. "Air slash."

After grumbling and not moving for a moment, Odette lifted her wings and, well, slashed the air. The sheer force of the attack generated carried over to Rainie, hitting him while he was down for ten strikes.

"Lift your head and let's try ice beam."

Cress might as well have said nothing at all. Much louder than he, Sylviana cried out, "Hurricane."

Odette growled again for some reason, then obeyed. What a moody bird. She flapped her wings once more, only this time continuously. In no time flat, a small twister formed with Rainie at the center. He screamed out as the hurricane cut him deep, over and over again. I glanced to see Sprout and Sunny maintaining composed faces while clenching fists at their sides.

"Get out with acrobatics!"

"Aerial ace." Again, Sylviana drowned Cress out. For the finishing blow, Odette swooped in at breakneck speed with pinpoint precision, colliding with his head. Only then did the hurricane die down, revealing Rainie splayed on the floor covered with bruises and cuts, yet still trying to stand (barely making it onto one knee before kissing the floor again).

The referee looked at Cress, who nodded. Only then did he declare, "Rainie is unable to battle."

The waiters were screwed. Odette was a beast and had the type advantage for the remaining monkeys. On cue, the buzzer went off. Sylviana and Cress put their hands on their dials, but only one tick sounded out; Sylviana faked switching.

Sunny came out. Well, Sprout was still pretty charred. "Sneaky. Very sneaky, indeed." Cress returned Rainie and gave his ball to a waiter who dashed to a back room, presumably to heal.

"Sorry." Well, her move wasn't technically illegal, but boy was it cheap. "Hydro pump!"

With one shot, Odette fell Sunny. Water gushed out and slammed into him like a wall. He went flying, stopping only when he fell onto Sprout. Sunny lay unconscious, above a winded simisage.

"Whoa!"

"I'm sorry!" Sylvina immediately said. Would that be considered a foul, even if it was accidental?

"Sunny is unable to battle."

"We're alright." Cilan looked at his simisage and took the center position. After Sunny was returned, the plate auto-rotated to Sprout. Collecting himself quickly, Cilan snapped and spun in place. "We're only reached the climax. Let us see if we can turn this around." There was no way they were winning.

The crowd, which I had completely forgotten about and ignored as I put all my focus on the battle, uproared. I only then noticed that Sylviana had her own little fanclub. I glanced over to my side to see Maverick bored out of his mind. I guessed he was waiting on Sylviana to foot the bill.

"One minute has elapsed."

Sylviana rotated to Dean. I had a feeling it would be over in an instant. "Flamethrower." Yep.

"Dodge and use seed bomb." Sprout just missed being singed again as he jumped up. He wasn't as quick as Rainie, but a close second. The simisage grabbed glowing green orbs from his pompadour and threw them like grenades, hitting Dean straight on the head. However, once the dust settled, the hydreigon was perfectly fine. "Low sweep."

"Flamethrower." So much for variety. But, it didn't matter as Sprout became roasted before he charged his attack.

"Sprout is unable to battle. And so, the victor is challenger Sylviana!"

**~X~**

As Sylviana went off to get her pokémon healed, I made my way to a sector of the poké center with a whole line of videophones set against a wall. My Xtransceiver went off the hook with notifications right after we left the restaurant. Both my mom and brother texted me to call the latter. The latter also sent me a bunch of pictures of various pidove since knew my disdain for them. Well, not for the one I caught, though.

I went to the station at the very end and pulled a 100-poké coin out from my bag. Some notice about a serial vandalist hung above each phone. After inserting the change, I checked my Xtransceiver to enter the location coordinates that my brother gave me to call the videophone he was waiting at currently. I punched in the information carefully, triple-checking before pressing enter.

A full minute of connecting, loading, and stomach churning later, I got a picture on my screen. Of Miles. He stood unmoving, breathing heavily and strangely, until he got pushed out of frame.

"Where are you?" He wasted no time.

"Striaton City." From behind him, his bisharp edged back on screen and kept staring me down.

"How many badges do you have?"

"N-none."

"The hell do you mean, none? You've been out for a week." He had a tendency to exaggerate time. I, on the other hand, overestimated time.

"It's been a day and a half. What do you want from me?" I whipped my head back to see if I was the only one in the room. Thankfully I was.

"So?"

"I'm not a god!" Hot shit, why was I supposed to have accomplished?

"Have you caught anything yet? If you haven't, I've lost all hope for you."

"Yes." I made sure to keep my tone unsure.

"Who"

Oh, if he knew I caught a pidove, he would never let me live it down after how much I whined about them at home. "A munna."

"From where?"

"The Dreamyard?"

"What the hell? I've never seen one. I wasted a whole week trying to find one there."

"I don't want him, though. But he wouldn't leave when I sent him out." Also, I feared for whether or not he was capable of existing alone.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Who else?" Were we changing subjects already?

"...A pidove." What could I say? I was a coward.

"Ha, that's all?"

"What was I supposed to do?" I could have said that all day long. "At least I caught a munna."

"What was your starter again?" Oh, he knew. And I knew he knew. "Oink." And he said it.

"This is costing me money." I fed the machine another 100 poké.

"Whatever. Have you gotten lost yet?"

"No." I was following Sylviana the whole time. Hopefully, that would have been the case until the end.

"Do you even know where to go next?"

The answer to that question was a big, fat _no_, but there were only so many places to go directly from Striaton City. I at least knew that much.

"Go to Nacrene. Then to Castelia. Get a badge like any normal person would." Each sentence bled frustration, stretched out and stressed like he was talking to a baby. "Do you even know where that is?"

I barely even remembered the first name he told me. Something beginning with an N probably. Maybe it was actually M? "What?"

"Go north. Do you even know that?" Well, who knew what cardinal direction they were facing at any given time? "Go to the transporter behind you, then. Before I hang up."

"Why?"

"Wait, you said you didn't want Munna? Then go to the thing on the side of this phone." He pointed somewhere off-screen.

I looked to the right and saw a mass of green and yellow plastic. It was a trading station. I knew from reading various starter pamphlets about pokémon journeys last week. You put a poké ball in the middle of the contraption, and somehow it would be traded with the person on the other line's. I honestly didn't care enough to learn the mechanics behind it.

"Who am I getting?" All I could think was, _Please don't be Queen. Please don't be Raze. Please don't be Pierce_. His slacking, archeops, and excadrill (respectively) were especially prone to hostility. I would have included Miles, but there was no way he would part with his first partner. But, wait. The same applied for all the ones that intimidated me. So, who would he pass off so easily?

"Pawn." On cue, Miles scoffed at the name. I knew two things about Miles: that he had a cruel streak, and a one-sided rivalry with Pawn, my brother's gallade.

To me, Pawn was a strange one. I got along with him, actually, and with his sister Bishop, a gardevoir. The only two of my brother's team that never went out of their way to tease me when they were at home. "Why?" I shoved in another 100 poké.

On the screen, I saw him reach his arm off-screen clutching a poké ball while Miles did his best to stop him. "Because babies need a babysitter. So says Mom. He comes back once you get a badge. What, would you rather Bishop?"

"No." Bishop was an affectionate and flamboyant one. Because I had nothing to lose, I took out Munna's ball. I guessed he was better off with my brother.

Before I could step away to load up the trading dock, I got pushed aside. A forceful, purposeful push. I stumbled into the wall to my right. There, having taken my place in front of the video phone was Maverick. Sylviana followed close behind.

"Joel, what are you doing right now?" Maverick barked.

My brother loudly groaned and dragged himself back on screen. "Hello, Maverick."

Then things clicked for me: Maverick was the annoying guy that kept proclaiming he would beat my brother, but never could. I knew as much from the televised competitions they squared off against in that I watched when there was nothing else on TV.

That was why Maverick's bisharp was familiar to me. It was the cocky one that got stomped on by Miles a couple of times before on public television, the scratch on his horn an eternal reminder of that one humiliating match. Apparently, Maverick ripped off Miles, but couldn't come close with Edge.

"Where are you?" Maverick repeated.

"I can't say." Apparently, Maverick also sought my brother out to extreme lengths to challenge him. Like one of those annoying recurring characters in video games. Never got a win in, I could tell.

"Hey, Joel!" Sylviana pushed Maverick away and smiled. Wow, was this becoming a mess. Was I going to get Pawn or not? He seemed more tolerable as a traveling companion than the two in front of me were at the moment.

"Yes, hello." My brother was stilted as hell.

Sylviana and Maverick gabbed on and on as I waited behind them. What exactly happened? Wasn't that supposed to be my call?

Eventually, I felt my Xtransceiver buzz. A text came in from my brother, reading _Go to Station 1_. At my previous phone, Station 10, Joel, very close to the edge of the screen, looked bored out of his mind as Maverick kept going on about something we couldn't care less about.

I followed the instructions and saw on the screen above the trading station lit up. On the right half of the screen was my brother's name, his trainer ID, and who he was offering. I used common sense to put my ID card on the scanner thing and Munna's ball on the transporter. To my relief, it worked.

_Press OK already _was the next text I got. I followed, and after a cute animation played on the screen above and a pillar of light shooting down on the poké ball, I picked up the capsule in the trader. Then, from the phone at Station 1 came an incoming call from the same location as the one my brother gave me earlier, off by just one number. _Pick up_ was the next text I got.

I answered the call and saw Joel and Miles again. "Hurry before they notice I'm not going back." He pointed with his thumb to his right. "Did you get Pawn? If you didn't, I will kill you."

Immediately, I sent whoever was in the ball in my hand out. And out came a gallade with a black fanny pack on and a choker around his neck with some circular divot. I recalled all of Joel's pokémon had this same accessory, just in different places; way to go, team spirit. Pawn raised an arm to cheer and placed his other on my shoulder. He stood in view of the phone to reassure my brother.

"Good." Joel then brought the poké ball he had into view and looked at it before tossing it. "Stickers. Nice."

He referred to the slip of paper I stuck on the ball with _Munna _scrawled on it. How else was I supposed to differentiate who was in what ball? I hadn't a clue how other people sorted that out. And I only had three.

From his ball came Munna, as spacey as ever. He took one look at me, then my brother, and nothing more. Either he didn't care, or he… No, he probably just didn't care.

"Pawn won't battle for you. He's just there to hold a stick to your back and make sure you don't hurt yourself somehow. Keep him out except where he's not allowed." He started talking faster. From behind me, I heard Sylviana chattering. She was probably within view of him. "Again, he won't battle for you. Figure it out yourself. Pawn, bring her to Castelia City. I'm sorry for doing this to you."

"Wait, I don't think I have enough money-"

"Joel, when's our rematch?" Maverick called out and dashed to Station 1.

"Goddamn it!" With that, my brother hung up.

"Hey!" What was wrong with Maverick? He was so uncomposed and gruff with my brother in the room. Then, he turned to me. "Who is he to you?"

Only now did I exist to him? Jeez, I could see why Joel couldn't wait to hang up. I noticed that Pawn stood behind me, possibly trying to hide. "My brother."

"Call him for me."

"That's gonna be hard…" I couldn't come up with a good reason to weasel out of his request. Thankfully. I didn't have to. He noticed Pawn and circled around to him.

"Let me battle him, then."

"That's gonna be impossible…" Was battling the only thing on his mind?

"You don't command him. I don't care if you're not Joel. Just let me battle him as is." Did he not understand no? What was wrong with him?

Pawn waved his arm-stalk-things left and right as he stepped back, clearly uncomfortable. A loud smack rang out, then a groan of pain. Sylviana dusted her hands and huffed. "You're being annoying. Let's go."

Sylvinana left the room, and then did a reluctant Maverick. I looked to Pawn who made an _after you_ gesture while slightly pushing me on the back.

The good that came out of this? Pawn would help me, and I actually didn't mind him. The bad? Maverick also had an interest in Pawn, and my brother. An annoying one.

**~X~**

I left the disaster that was Striaton City behind me following Sylviana and Maverick. The latter only stuck around because Pawn joined our party. Not too soon after, we passed by some pre-school. Although school wasn't in session yet since it was still early summer, there were a couple of kids playing in a sandbox.

I didn't think much of them until one shouted when we almost left plain view. "Hey, stop."

I kept my head down and walked faster, convincing myself that they weren't calling out to me. Why would they have? But, Sylviana held me back by the sleeve and turned me around. "I think they're talking to us."

The two kids from the sandbox ran up to us and bounced on their heels, looking at Pawn. I noticed they looked extremely similar, dressed in the same blue sundress and wearing the same hat, probably twins. The only difference was that one had her hair down and the other in pigtails. A woman ran after them, but didn't get close in time before one girl said, "You're trainers? Let's battle."

_Said_ was too generous of a descriptor. She more screeched it, with words full of confidence of unknown origin. I hated it. Why was this conversation even happening?

So annoying. I didn't want to battle at all, much less with little children. If I lost? I got beat by a kid like a third of my age. If I won? I would be a bully that didn't relent against a kid like a third of my age.

"No, what did I tell you girls? Don't go challenging strangers like that. It's rude," the woman, probably their mother, chided.

"But we're bored!" The other girl spoke up. Well, kid, you needed to learn how to sit still and bear with it. That's what I did.

"Oh, well… How about it?" The woman turned to me. All because I had Pawn out? What if I wasn't a trainer, and he wasn't my pokémon? What then? "Could you battle my daughters? Just for a while."

The answer was obviously _no_, but I couldn't outright say that, as much as I wanted to. How rude would I be, and what were the potential consequences for saying that? So, I froze and felt myself warm up.

Meanwhile, Sylviana bent down to talk to the kids. "I'm a trainer too. Why don't we double battle?" No, what was she getting me into again? Well, it would be better than a solo battle, but no battle at all would be better. "Is that okay?"

Both kids nodded and ran a distance away to a battlefield drawn in the sand. Sylviana went opposite them, dragging me with her the whole way. I wanted to run away, but things would have gone to shit if I did. Plus, what would that make me? Damn it all.

It just wasn't fair. When I was their age, I didn't have a pokémon, nor was I so excitable. The two had accomplished much more with their lives than I did at present.

"Alright, since they're okay with it." The mother handed each daughter a poké ball from her purse. Immediately, they flung their balls out, revealing a petilil and a cottonee.

So this was my first trainer battle? I hated it. Beside me, Sylviana sent out Celeste. I only had Pepper and Tempest, the pidove from yesterday, to choose from. After I caught Tempest, we did train quite a bit against wild pokemon in the Dreamyard. However… Well, sending her out would say it all.

I opted for Pepper. "Showtime," I said to myself. Pawn stood next to me, cheering on with genuine joy.

"Absorb!" each kid called out.

"Dodge." Sylviana sounded like she had no stake in this battle. Well, it was going to be easy for her. What about me?

I knew absorb was a grass-type move. I also realized that if we (I) lost this battle, I was a complete failure. "Ember."

To my delight, Pepper heard me and sent out fire to the green pair across the field. After the last smoldering bit launched out, she jumped in time to avoid being hit by a red claw of energy surrounded by green spores, what apparently was the move absorb. I ended up "dodging" as well.

"Louder, El." Sylviana nudged my side, saying the obvious.

_Would if I could_, I thought. But, I said, "One more time."

That was how Pepper got on my good side in addition to being cute: she actually managed to hear me. What a miracle. At first she couldn't, but eventually we got along.

I saw the initial ember being dodged just barely by the petilil. Before she landed, Pepper shot out the second flame, knocking all composure out of the plant. When the petilil fell, she made a noise like she was crying. Please, someone had to tell me she knew fake tears or something.

"Not fair!" The girl with pigtails, the petilil's trainer, stomped her foot and made a fuss.

I wanted to say _suck it up_, but what kind of asshole would I be then? What, was I supposed to yield? Go easy? Let her win because she didn't want to lose? Well, guess what? I didn't want to lose either. So, I let the shame I felt fester inside and opened my mouth again. "Tackle."

Pepper charged in and knocked the petilil down. The cottonee just stood a ways away, probably hoping to avoid getting hurt. So much for teamwork.

"Stop it!" the sister, the one with the cottonee said just as Pepper slammed into the petilil. I hesitated and froze. Meanwhile, Pepper bounced back and retreated to our side of the battlefield, her head down. Did she feel shame too? Well, weren't we kindred spirits!

"Leech seed!" That little jerk. That wasn't fair. What a distraction, though, I would give them that. A pod shot out from the cottonee and landed on Pepper, sprouting vines that wrapped around her.

"Ember." Was I supposed to be bored and at my wit's end by now? At least I was probably never going to see these two twins in my life ever again after this.

I looked to Sylviana, who nodded her head as if to tell me _go on, finish this._ Bull-honky. She was just here for moral support? Why did she accept the challenge first, then? She severely overestimated my abilities.

The move hit its mark again, sending the petilil back. She fell down and didn't get back up again. So we won? Kinda pyrrhic if you asked me. "That's not fair!"

Well, life wasn't fair, so…

I don't know why, but I was so thankful that I stopped caring about shame at that point because I went into autopilot. I could stew in my shame after the battle finished. "Again. New target."

Pepper pivoted and faced the cottonee, charging up ember again. Did she have a limit to how many successive times she could use that move?

"Stun spore!" Yellow dust shot out and blew across the field, passing by the ember going the opposite direction. The head-of-cauliflower-looking thing didn't try to dodge, so he got splattered in the face with the fire-type move.

"Whoa, get out of the way." That came out on its own. But even with the warning, she just wasn't fast enough to avoid getting covered with the powder. Shortly after, Pepper crackled with electricity, faltering in just seconds after her joints locked up. So cheap. "Can you move?"

Nope. She struggled to stand tall.

"Well, just get it over with. Ember one more time." That cottonee was not going to last. At least, that was how it seemed.

And I was right. He didn't dodge the ember, so he got seared again and fell. After a few seconds of dead air, I sighed and rifled through my bag to find a paralyze heal. I knew I had several. So sue me for being over-cautious. I couldn't find it immediately, though, and my mind went blank.

The sound of two crying twins snapped me out of my daze. Across the field, the sisters stomped and whined to their hearts' content as their pokémon tried to comfort them. The mother walked over and gave an awkward smile. "Thank you for entertaining my daughters. They'll be fine in an hour."

When I came to, the three strangers were gone. Sylviana tapped my shoulder with a yellow spray bottle. "Here, a paralyze heal. Hurry and use it. She needs it."

My "victory" set in and deflated me. Trying to forget it ever happened, I bent down to the slightly-spasming Pepper and sprayed her with the medicine Sylviana gave me. It took only a few seconds for the yellow tinge to dispel from her. When I stood back up, I saw Pawn trying to hide the golden bottle he slipped back into his fanny pack, the words _Full Heal_ printed along an edge in a fancy font. What the hell was that thing?

Pepper oinked. It sounded just as unsure as I was. I returned her and hoped we wouldn't get dragged into another battle before the next city.

"Let's not count that." I managed to look up and lift my feet, hands tightly balled into fists. Sylviana and Maverick walked on ahead, heads high and posture perfect. I slumped over and walked the fastest I could to catch up to them.

**~X~**

It was about a three hour walk to get to Nacrene City. I kept my head down the whole trek, managing to keep my stamina up the distance only because Sylviana walked so slowly.

The shift in atmosphere cause me to look up. It was a quaint, mostly gray city. The buildings were huge, but couldn't compare to the loudness of Opelucid City. And that was ignoring the weird neon aesthetic of my hometown.

I went through the motions and, after checking into the poké center and having Pepper checked out, found myself in front of Nacrene Museum. It looked like just about any museum I had ever seen before on school trips, except for the large sign outside with _Shauntal Book _

_Signing 6-27!_ printed on it. A picture of the Elite Four member Shauntal took up most of the sign That was a few days from now.

"The gym is part of the museum. Like some mutant twin," Sylviana said with a strange smile. I almost laughed at her description. "Now, it's your turn."

"Hold up, wait." Was she serious? I was anything but prepared."I'm not up for this right now." My voice tapered off at the end.

"What do you mean, El?" she asked like I was the one talking nonsense. Well, not everybody could be her.

At this, Pawn (who I never returned since receiving him as per my brother's orders) tugged on my arm and motioned to pass the museum. He pointed to the western exit, marked by a nicely placed sign for me to read nearby. Didn't Joel say to go to Castelia? Why, if Nacrene was in between? Maybe it would have been easier. I knew Castelia gym's typing was bug.

"Uh…" I racked my head for any reason to chicken out of entering the building, whether it was for my non-existent pride's sake or to see what Pawn wanted. "Train. Yeah, train! -ing…" I prayed to whatever god that would hear me that I didn't sound like an absolute idiot.

"What do you mean? You'll do fine." Sylviana always reassured me like this, but this was something entirely different from doing an oral presentation at school. "This gym is a normal type one. And the leader is super nice… I think. That's what I remember."

"Uh-huh." How was I supposed to take that?

"No, that's totally how I remember her. But, her gym was so annoying."

At that, my mind raced. Gyms typically had gimmicks to them before one could challenge the leader, I read somewhere. What could this one could have been? It was a freaking museum. Well, Striaton's was apparently a restaurant, so this one would be… a museum? Like, some interactive thing or something. How the hell could I have guessed it?

"Just use Pawn. Everything will be over in one move that way," Maverick said, staring at the gallade who was still gently pulling me to walk away from the gym.

"Yeah, totally!" Sylviana agreed.

Oy, vey. That would have been a brilliant idea had Joel not made it super clear that Pawn wouldn't battle under me. "Uh… I want to do this on my own merit," I fibbed. If I could use Pawn to one-shot everything, boy would I. Anything to get this over with ASAP.

"Fine, then. I'm bored." Sylviana followed this with a yawn and an arm extended to a cafe just down one door. If only I could be that blunt.

She left, Maverick following her after Pawn swatted his arm for staring at the poor pokémon too long. I sighed and said, "Normal-type gym, huh?"

Pawn pulled on my elbow again. This time, I let him drag me out of the city.

The outskirts of Pinwheel Forest was perfect for the Nacrene gym. After a quick internet search for places interest, I learned that the place was full of fighting-type pokémon, which were effective against normal-types. If I caught one, maybe we could have won on our first try.

Pawn nudged me in the direction of the forest that led to Castelia. "Uh, let's wait for Sylviana." That was my cover for _I'd rather not_.

Pawn put a hand (or whatever constituted as his hand) to his mouth and looked back and forth between me and the eerie-looking forest. He shut his eyes tightly for a good second before nodding his head and standing patiently while I dug through my bag. At that, I searched faster for my objects of desire to not waste his time any more than I already had.

I pulled out a piece of gum and Tempest's poké ball. I threw the gum into my mouth and the ball a couple yards away. The pidove came out with no sense of urgency, taking her sweet time to stand up just to peck at her wings.

"Tempest." Why such an edgy name for my spacey pidove? It was the only damn one she responded to yesterday. All other ones I tried out, I thought she thought I was talking to something else entirely. This one, she at least looked at me when I said it. "Tempest."

She hopped in place, then pivoted herself to face me. _Please don't let this be painful_, I said in my head. Just in case, I sent Pepper out as backup. "Let's find something easy to start off with."

Oh, Tempest, my dear. I looked around to see if any pokémon were around at all. And there were plenty a distance away. Most prominent to me was a tall blue one in what looked like a karate gi squaring off with a stout red one, also in a karate gi. Where they got those, and how they got them, and why they wore them was anyone's guess. When the shorter one grappled the other, I walked off in the other direction as quickly as I could.

Eventually, I found an opponent of similar caliber to Tempest. At least, I really hoped she could take it on. It was another pidove. It wasn't bigger, nor did it appear completely hostile, so it wouldn't have been impossible to win, yeah? It would hurt to try. Well, actually it would, but…

"Get her attention." Tempest didn't move, nor show any sense of knowing what was going on.

"Tempest, Tempest." I tried again. This time, she pivoted to face me. For whatever strange reason, this was the norm for her. She was lucky I had a lot of patience. Pepper looked at her with what I assumed to be worry. So did I, but for a different reason.

"Quick attack." I slightly raised an arm, hoping to convey it as an attack order. My pidove about-faced again and jumped a couple of times, glowing white. I repeated, "Quick attack."

With a sharp cry, she launched forwards, hurtling at breakneck speed. Tempest flew on and on, aiming at the other bird until there was little distance between them.

"You think she can do it normally this time?" I started at Pawn, who shrugged. "That's a no? Same here."

On cue, Tempest came to a dead stop, just before slamming into the wild pidove. Instead of a quick attack, our opponent, who I kept calling _Ma'am _in my head, received a small love tap. This caught her attention, resulting in Tempest getting pushed away by a stronger, complete quick attack.

"Damn it." Tempest was flung towards me in an instant. To my delight, Pawn caught her like a basketball for me. "Tempest, Tempest." She couldn't have liked a one-syllable name?

Tempest hopped out of Pawn's arms and back onto the ground. Ma'am came closer, meaning the battle really started.

"Again. Quick attack." I waited for her to charge up. "Quick attack." Only then did she charge forward. Once they were only about five feet apart, I said one last time, "Quick attack."

Three certainly was a magic number. Finally, Tempest finished the attack and pushed Ma'am back.

That wasn't really something to be proud of. "Well, finish it you're so good. Air cutter." Tempest flew up, wings glowing a bright blue. "Air cutter." She took bigger flaps, causing a strong wind come even my way. "I hate this. Air cutter."

Three crescents of high-speed wind cut through the air and hit Ma'am square-on. She fell down and twitched a little. I waited again to see if she would keep fighting. But, when she flew back up, she left.

"I hesitate to compliment you. I hope you know that," I said to Tempest. Either she really didn't understand what was happening or she was really good at playing dumb because all she did was tilt her head. "Let's hit the grind. And please, let's drop having to repeat commands like that."

She would have been cute if she weren't so infuriating in battle. And I wasted a good chunk of yesterday after having caught her trying to figure out that I had to say the same command thrice for Tempest to carry it out to completion. Good thing I had patience and a strange imagination.

We didn't have to go far to find another opponent. Out of a bush came a short gray mole-like pokémon with what looked like veins bulging off of its body. It wielded a stick, like one from a tree, waving it around like a sword.

It was a timburr. I didn't get to read any more of the entry before it charged at Tempest, whacking her out of the air with the wood. "You have a weapon?"

Well, the dex portrait had a timburr holding a square log, so I guessed anything was possible. While I tried accepting that as fact, Pepper nudged Tempest back on her feet with her head. Not too long after, Pawn poked my shoulder and nodded at the pidove who jumped and fluttered her wings wildly. That was one reason I hesitated to touch her.

Before I could say anything, Tempest lunged forward with quick attack.

"That is a supremely bad idea." I got louder with each word as my prediction came true: the timburr raised its stick straight up, creating a makeshift shield. It barely constituted as one given its shape, but whatever. Tempest went straight into it in her blind rage, crumpling to the ground soon after impact. "Ah, that's gonna hurt."

I looked closer at the stick and counted more than five protruding twigs from the branch the timburr waved back and forth. Was it taunting us? It then twirled the stick like a baton and turned tail to run closer into the forest looming ahead, all the while beckoning us to follow.

"Do we give chase?" Pepper tilted her head and Pawn held his hands up. Meanwhile, Tempest stood again and thrashed her small feet. "I don't wanna. I really don't care. Let's go back."

And of course I couldn't even have that. Tempest immediately launched into the air and shot after the timburr without waiting for anything.

"You better not lose it, then." Never had I wanted to walk away more than then.

Pepper, Pawn, and I followed Tempest, the tepig shooting ahead at surprising speed. I started running the fastest I could too. For a few seconds, I managed to trail Pepper by only a couple of yards. Then, the distance between us became greater and greater as my legs and lungs began to ache. Pawn put an arm to my back as if to help me keep running faster, but he soon let go and kept a steady pace at the midpoint between me and Pepper, probably to make sure we didn't get separated.

I was left struggling to lift my legs and continue, already wishing I hadn't left the poké center. Wallowing in my own shame at my physical incapabilities, I cursed myself and forced my body to keep running.

**~X~**

Complacency lends itself my ear

and whispers, "Take the path most traveled by."

Before me wind two long, long roads.

The first one shoots straight to the unknown horizon.

The other branches off the first,

curling in loops and waves to the plain unknown.

The sign along the first reads _The Answer_,

while the other reads _The Journey_.

Both roads promise satisfaction at travel's end.

The first path is covered with leaves,

a sunset of hues calling for me,

except in a straight line down the center, where the road is barren.

No, not barren. Leaves had been trampled

so much as to become one with the ground.

How many people must have walked it to become as such?

The second path is covered with snow,

a pure, smooth white inviting me to dance.

Hundreds, thousands, and so on footprints mar the surface of the snow.

They mix together and overlap so much,

it almost appears as if the snow was left untouched.

How many people must have walked it to become as such?

My only goal is to reach the end of one path.

That is my one wish.

Which road is the one most traveled by?

I shall take that one.

That one is safer.

That one is easier.

That one guarantees that I make progress.

Both look well-traveled, so

I flip a coin, and it lands upright.

I go eeny, meeny, miny, moe, and end up biting my tongue.

I draw a card, and it blows away with the wind.

So I just close my eyes and walk blindly

and somehow, I'm back where I started.

* * *

Author's note: And the ball starts rolling. Again, keep in mind that the poem is written by Eloise in a journal she carries around.

I just hope that gallade aren't as played out as I've heard people make them out to be. He was just the best option for Pawn. I'm actually basing Joel's team on my brother's competitive team from _White 2_, which he beat me bunches with.


	3. Hopeless Chase

What made the mad dash after Timburr so embarrassing wasn't that I couldn't catch up, but that it wasn't even that great a distance. After entering Pinwheel Forest, I followed Pawn, who followed Pepper, who followed Tempest, who followed our target. Pawn hooked an immediate left turn into a sunny clearing.

There, Timburr stood with a cocky grin and beckoned Tempest forward. The run lasted about three minutes.

I moved behind Tempest and took a good minute to catch my breath. "Tempest, Tempest." My pidove readied herself and stared straight at Timburr. "Quick attack."

She took a stance ready to leap forward. "Quick attack." Finally, she launched and hurtled towards her opponent.

Before I could give the last confirmation command, Timburr groaned and held its stick up in the air like it had earlier. So, I didn't repeat the move. In turn, Tempest ceased her attack and instead landed in front of it. "We need to get that stick away from it." Tempest looked back at me and blinked as if I told her to sprout legs and run a marathon. "Uh, how about gust?"

Hearing an oink, I remembered that Pepper was there too. I probably should have had Tempest tag out, but she was already angry.

I waited for the bird to start flapping her wings like she was stretching. "Gust." Then she flapped with meaning. "Goddamn, gust."

Very soon, a small twist of wind formed right in front of Timburr, quickly moving towards it. After colliding with the attack, the little jerk flew back, dropping its stick in the process. Because Tempest wouldn't (and probably couldn't), I dashed to pick up the fallen weapon and huck it about five feet away.

It jumped back on its feet quickly with a deep grunt, and had what I assumed to be a smile. But it just got hit with a super-effective attack. And just lost its stick. Was this timburr a masochist?

"Okay, uh… Air cutter?" Tempest could have at least taken less time charging up. "Air cutter." One, two. "Air cutter."

Again, three crescents of strong wind flew at Timburr, whose smile grew with delight for some reason. It jumped back in time to dodge and landed on a fallen log behind it. Once landed, it hopped in place and waved a hand back and forth as if to say _try that again_.

Tempest only got more flustered as she started squawking like the world was ending. "Okay, okay, air cutter." She tried it again. "Air cutter." At least I had the timing down already. "Air cutter "

Tempest flung her attack directly at the hopping thing's feet. Pity Timburr jumped in time, causing the air cutter to hit the log it used as a platform. But, again, it was elated at this. Once more, Timburr taunted us, still standing on the log. I noticed that a sharp dent was made in it after the attack landed.

Timburr seemed like it wanted us to use air cutter again. That was my only guess. At least they were having a nice time. "Air cutter." It cheered and squatted down, probably to jump once the attack came.

I looked back at Pawn and Pepper, who were sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree, waiting for the battle to conclude. Pawn caught my attention and moved his arms similar to how Tempest swung her wings for air cutter.

Timburr grunted several times whilst waving a fist at Tempest. Were they holding a conversation?

Pawn pointed at me and then Tempest, nodding his head. "What's that supposed to mean?" That could have meant anything under the sun and more.

Calling out, he waved his arms like Tempest again and pointed below Timburr, at the log it stood on.

"What about it?" Was that supposed to help? "Oh, shoot, air cutter!" I managed to get through before Tempest stopped her first-stage charge of the move. I turned around and decided to ignore Pawn since I didn't get what he was saying. "Air cutter."

This garnered the same result: Timburr dodged and Tempest struck the log. At this, our opponent forgot about us and put its face right to the wood. I walked a couple steps over to see it admiring the dents made by air cutter. Then I remembered its dex portrait, and what Pawn tried to convey became clear.

"Not like we have anything better to do." This would be my good deed for the day. I just hoped it would be entertaining. "Tempest, Tempest."

The pidove followed me as I approached the log at the opposite end from Timburr. I made sure a good distance was maintained as I didn't want it to end up attacking me. It looked at me and jumped back up, becoming king of the log once more.

"Uh, do you want this thing cut?" I did a small chopping move with my arm. At this, Timburr's face filled with delight again and it nodded. I couldn't believe what I was doing. "Uh, we'll help..."

It jumped off and smacked the wood on the way down. This thing sure knew how to live it up.

"You really had to assault Tempest for our help, though?" But, then again, any other way and we probably would have not given chase.

It moved like it shrugged. Then, Timburr went to pick up the stick I tossed and swung it around like a toy.

"Let's make this painless, then. Air cutter." With a huff, Tempest complied. "Air cutter." One, two. "Air cutter "

This carved another couple of inches into the log, but not enough to completely split it. I focused a little more and saw that the log was actually quite long, like six feet. Its diameter was about the size of Tempest. So, we kept going and going until finally, a surprisingly clean cut was made into the log. Pretty jagged with angular points, but still.

It got our attention again by shouting and jumping while standing at the other end from where we cut and pointed as if to say _here too! _The edge was jagged and kind of black.

"Are you serious?" I looked at Tempest, who seemed to have exhausted herself already. Timburr came up to us and stood before Tempest, poking her with the stick and saying something I couldn't understand.

Before I knew it, Tempest gained a second wind. She flew up and flailed her wings, firing air cutter after air cutter at the other end of the log until the rotted segment was lopped off. It must have taunted her into doing that.

Timburr did a small jig before admiring the about-three-foot-long log. It then made a gesture that read _follow me_ and tried to push the log out of the rut it lay in. I put a foot on the wood and kind of kicked it, not really helping in the least bit.

Pepper and Pawn came up to us and tried helping too. But Timburr had none of it. It tapped Pawn's arms and Pepper's nose with the butt of its stick. They seemed more stunned than hurt, then backed off.

"What was that for? You okay?" Both nodded and kept watching. Meanwhile, Tempest perched in a nearby tree and roosted.

Rolling its hand in the air as if to rally me, Timburr grunted and tapped my feet and arms with its stick. Then, it resumed its pushing position.

"Please don't do that." I brushed where the stick touched me with my hands and copied its posture, helping Timburr move the log. I couldn't believe I was being pushed around by this thing. But, it could have been worse. It probably only wanted my help because I was so much bigger than it, though.

Eventually, the wood budged and the two of us moved it to flat land. Then, Timburr just started punching and kicking it with all its might. "What are you doing now?"

A loud grunt, followed by a soft one. A smacking noise, then a solid thump. A deep exhale yet a shallow inhale. Timburr kept a solid rhythm as it assaulted the log.

"Uh, you know that's not gonna-Holy shit, you're actually flattening it out!" Where it hit the log, the rounded edge became ever so slightly straight. Seeming familiar, I checked the dex portrait again and saw that the log in it was squared off.

With a deep cry, Timburr waved its arm and rallied me again.

"Please let no one be watching." I looked around and only saw Pawn and Pepper waiting patiently. So, like and idiot, I joined in the whacking of the log. And when I said _like an idiot_, I meant _like an idiot_. The first thing I did was punch it hard.

All that did was hurt my hand, but Timburr kept crying out and looking at me. So, I pretended to punch the dumb wood as it did the actual work.

Let me say, that took time. A lot of time. Evening had fallen a while ago. Timburr kept at it for hours, constantly evening out each side of its masterpiece as I punched the air like an idiot.

Was it boring? Yes. Was it exhausting? Yes. Did it fill me with even more regret? Yes. Was it real? Sadly and somehow, yes.

But boy was the result stunning.

At long last, we beheld a nearly perfect rectangular prism of wood. I had to say, this timburr was dedicated and buff. "Nice work."

Then it hit me: what the hell was it going to do with this thing? Use it like the dex entry portrayed it?

The answer was yes. Timburr squatted low and held the log in its hands, slowly standing up. It managed to lift it a few inches before I saw the wood shaking in its hands. "Wait, that's not gonna work. That's not an upgrade from your stick, it's too much. You're gonna hurt yourself."

I scrambled to the end of the log Timburr couldn't reach with its arm span and held it up to try to create balance. Together, we lifted and put the timber in Timburr's hands to cradle. It cried out in victory. Talk about cocky. It was going to drop that any time now given how shaky its entire being was.

Tempest finally woke up and came down. Once within sight, Timburr approached her, dragging the log on the ground, and held its hand out while bending and extending its fingers like a challenge issue.

Pawn called for my attention again, then put up his dukes to get the message across.

"Well, we've got nothing better to do. Tempest, Tempest." She looked at Timburr and its new weapon and puffed her chest out.

"Still angry from earlier?" A thought came to me then. "Should I catch it"

I looked to Pawn and Pepper while pointing at Timburr. I already sunk the entire afternoon and more with it, and it seemed pretty strong. But, it did hit us with a stick of unknown origin. It couldn't have hurt to try, though.

"Alright, air cutter." One, two. "Air-Uh…"

The next thing I knew, Tempest splayed on the ground with Timburr hovering above her. It had stuck a glowing foot out and swiped it across Tempest, who decided to not fly up to use air cutter this time for some reason. The log was fallen on the ground as well.

"Tempest? You good?" She came to soon enough, but in that time, Timburr went back to its log and tried to pick it up again. "That'll take forever. Air cutter." She flew up this time and readied herself.

"Air cu…" I trailed off as I saw Timburr manage to lift the log alone. However, it was certainly off-kilter, looking ready to fall over. I kind of ran over to make sure it didn't hurt itself, but that was too late.

The log tipped over and fell. This timburr had surprisingly good reflexes as it repositioned itself quickly to catch it. But, that wasn't enough. Once the log landed in its hands, it grunted loudly and hunched over. I moved to help, but before I could touch the wood, it got dropped. Timburr then followed suit.

"Oh, shit." I awkwardly moved my hands above the fallen timburr. Guessed it would have been in bad taste to shout _timber_ right then and there.

It groaned loudly, probably pulled something. Yet it still had the ability to snuggle up to its log and not let go.

"Uh…"

Pawn shook my shoulder and pointed in the direction of Nacrene City. "Center. Got it. Uh.."

Despite our weird little bonding, I still didn't want to touch Timburr. Predicting my sentiments, Pawn made a small tossing motion as Pepper poked at my bag.

"Catch it now? Isn't that kinda unfair?" I returned Pepper and Tempest. If it really didn't want to be caught, it would probably cause chaos, too. I wasn't cleaning up that mess.

After sighing and shaking his head, Pawn picked up Timburr and its log and walked ahead of me.

I ended up following him back to Town instead of the other way around.

**~X~**

"Don't worry. Your timburr will be fine after a little rest. She just got a little too excited and passed out. Some excess exhaustion and nothing more. I'll contact you once she wakes up," Nurse Joy told me. "Also, here is your pidove back, all nice and healed."

"Thank you." I looked at the floor as I processed the information and took Tempest's ball back. But something was off. "Her?"

The nurse paused on her way back to smile at me. Guessed that answered that. So Timburr was a girl? The veins and muscles were a little off-putting, but I shrugged it off. There were weirder things.

"What now?" The answer was obvious, actually: go back to my room and rest. But, I wanted to make sure Timburr was fine. I wasn't heartless.

Surprisingly, Pawn pulled me towards the exit. "A walk?" I wanted anything except exercise. My hand still hurt from when I punched the log. Joel probably told Pawn to do this.

Before I could register what was happening, Pawn dragged me outside. And since I was already outside, I might as well have let Pawn keep pulling me along. At least he walked slow.

We strolled the lamp-lit streets until a deep bass pulled us out of our peace. In the direction the noise came from, a small crowd gathered and clapped with the music. Curious, I slowly made my way towards the source of noise and saw a boombox bursting some rhythm-heavy song. Near it was a pokémon break-dancing.

Yeah, I said that.

"What the fuck is this?" I notice a hat by its feet with some money in it. Ever more curious, I scanned it. The pokémon turned out to be a scrafty, whatever that was. However…

I choked on spit when I saw a tattoo right under the thing's mohawk. And the thing's mohawk. Damn, it was the guy Pepper almost set on fire with the gum she spit out yesterday. I was sure of it. The gyarados-infinity tattoo and swag on him were exactly the same. So he wasn't human.

I stood, mesmerized by the little guy. He bounced and posed to the beat for several songs in a row. A while later, the crowd thinned out and Pawn and I were the only ones watching. I checked the time to see it was about two in the morning.

When the song finished, the scrafty checked his own watch and switched the boombox off. Why did he have and why could he use a watch? Actually, I would take that back; I was pretty sure Pawn had a pocket watch or something in his fanny pack. The scrafty picked his hat up and eyed the bills in it.

I realized I had been watching him dance for like half an hour. So, I dug through my bag and pulled out two 1,000-poké bills. That was a goddamn lot of money to me, but before I could put one back, the scrafty looked at me and bowed. I just held the money in front of him, afraid of looking like and idiot more than losing money. He took it, bowed again wearing an uneven smile, and walked away with all his things.

"Let's go back..." Well, at least I was entertained.

**~X~**

The next morning, I woke up supremely early. After getting back to the center last night (rather, early, early this morning), I couldn't sleep. Immediately, after wasting more of my money on breakfast for four mouths, plus a treat for an extra one, I went to the care room Timburr slept in.

_I need to battle trainers. I'm broke_, I thought. There was no way I was borrowing cash from anyone. I just needed to figure out how to go about that.

Inside the room, Timburr sat up on a medical bed. Once she saw me and Pawn enter, she hopped off and stood before me. She held her arms out, expecting something. So, I dropped the breakfast burrito I bought for her in them. After gazing at it questionably, she kept her arms out.

Pawn moved his arms and kind of formed a box with them. "Oh, I can guess what she really wants. And I'm pretty sure we shouldn't give it to her, unless she wants to exhaust herself again."

The stupid log we wasted yesterday making sat in my room after Nurse Joy handed it to me and said to hold onto it. The thing was damn heavy. I dropped it a couple times transporting it last night before Pawn decided to lend a hand.

"If she's feeling well, feel free to take her back." Nurse Joy entered the room and started cleaning up the room. "She's all rested up and ready for today."

Just before the nurse finished her sentence, Timburr left the room to stare at me and tap her foot by the doorframe. With her tiny hands, she crinkled the burrito wrapper. Whether she didn't know how to open it or didn't want it, I hadn't a clue.

"Thank you…" I wasn't sure if the nurse heard me or not, but I walked away without turning back, knowing I would feel stupid if I repeated myself. "Hey, eat that. I bought it."

Timburr poked the food as she walked strangely close to my leg. I sighed, looked around to make sure no one was watching, then bent down to unwrap the thing for her. After sniffing it, she picked it up as I took the plastic wrap away just in case she tried to eat it. Hell if I knew if she knew about plastic.

I walked us to my room and pulled out the card key. Before I swiped it, I took my time to read a piece of paper taped to it. Wasn't here when I left.

_Trainers! Please be aware of a serial vandalist that has been visiting poké centers across Unova. Their actions include_

That was all I could read. The rest of the notice was smeared with something brown and oily. By the scent alone, how it made me feel nauseous and itchy, it was surely peanut butter. But why, and how? Well, it certainly could have been a worse brown substance.

"I don't think this is a good thing." That it was covered with something like peanut butter meant it was intentional. Why else would anybody go out of their way to deface a warning flyer with the stuff? Either that, or the culprit was some asshole who passed by, happened to be eating a peanut butter sandwich, then decided they felt like smashing it against a PSA. You know, either actually sounded plausible… Not.

Pawn gawked at the peanut butter. Who wouldn't? Out of paranoia, I looked around. In this wing of the dormitories, I saw each door had a notice posted on it like mine. Several others also had brown staining theirs. "What is this?" I went up to a clean flyer and continued reading.

_Their actions include: spraying unsavory graffiti on the walls of suites and bathrooms; throwing paint on sleeping pokémon left inside rooms; leaving hostile pokémon inside rooms; and stealing gym badges. They are not limited to these offenses. If you are a victim, or if you witness the culprit, please report any and all activity to the help desk. _

My heart pounded and my balance swayed as I hoped I wouldn't become a victim to this shit. It wasn't what I signed up for, and the last thing I needed to worry about on my journey. But, nothing interesting really ever happened to me, so I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest.

Timburr lightly punched my calf and opened and closed her hand as if to say _give me_. A little too much physical contact, but alright.

"Sure." I turned the knob to my room and held my breath. Then, I slowly pushed it open and reached for the light switch, eyes kept on the antsy timburr beside me. I kept smacking the wall to find the switch to no avail.

Silence overtook us, save for the sound of me hitting the wall in my blind search. Well, that and something else. Something strange, out of place… Something akin to _growling_, I would say. But what the hell was growling? My stomach? No.

I didn't get to wonder any more as the noise turned into a snarling. Several heavy footsteps pounded from _inside_ my room, and the next thing I knew, a huge beast pounced out of the darkness at us.

Pawn pulled me to the side in time for it to leap past me, a whip of fur brushing against my face. After I blinked, I stared at the horrible surprise that laid in wait for me. "What?" I had no breath left in me.

Timburr cried out, followed by a thud that meant she fell either onto the floor or against the wall. I looked back at her and followed her pointing finger to the mass of brown fur that almost ran me over. The thing looked like a dog with a sick mustache. In its mouth was a stick.

No, not a stick. It just looked like a stick since the thing was so big, up to my shoulders. In its mouth was Timburr's log. "The fuck?"

The next thing I knew, it ran off. Timburr followed it closely. I hesitated to do so, but ended up closing my door before following them. Nurse Joy knew I was affiliated with this pokémon, so any damage by her would mean I got the blame.

Once again, Pawn became my waypoint. We ran around the poké center before we somehow all ended up at the battlefields behind the building. I hated that we didn't encounter Nurse Joy or someone to get help from. Not even someone to tell us to not run in the halls.

Outside, the dog kept charging straight. If we let it keep running, it would have made a clean getaway with Timburr's log, never mind what havoc it would wreak in the city. I put effort in the making of that thing, so I also had a stake in it. So, I panicked and rifled through my bag for something, anything. I felt a poké ball with a sticker on it and flung it the hardest I could ahead.

Maybe I had potential for baseball or something because the poké ball flew ahead of the dog, and out came Pepper in time to execute one move. But, the problem was that I probably couldn't shout loud enough for her to hear me. Plus I was out of breath.

Lucky me, though. Out of what I assumed to be instinct, Pepper shot ember at the charging dog. That slowed it down and caused it to come to a dead stop.

It dropped the log and bent down, head to the ground in some battle stance. By the time I got in shouting distance of Pepper, the dog's fangs crackled with electricity as it chomped them like a guillotine. Only then did I notice its absurdly sharp teeth, all of them perfect cones. Pepper jumped out of the way to stand in front of me, just barely dodging the dog charging at her.

"Uh… Pawn, can't you do something?" The dog was huge and scary. Possibly rabid. And who knew where it came from. It certainly wasn't mine.

Pawn hesitated and made a gesture to give him a minute to think. There wasn't time, though. It wasn't even like I wanted to command him, if that was the issue. I just wanted to not get bit by this thing. What the hell did Joel tell him to not do?

"Uh, uh, Pepper!" My eyes flickered from Pawn to Timburr, who ran to retrieve her log the moment it hit the ground. "Seriously? You can't carry it right. Whatever, um, ember."

Again, flames shot out of Pepper's nostrils and lightly toasted the dog. After scanning it, it was apparently a stoutland, male. I knew a pokémon I didn't want to train in the future.

Without waiting for me, Pepper launched another ember, then followed into a tackle. "Whoa, no, I didn't say that!" She was going to get hurt, wasn't she? This sucked. "Uh… Why do you only know two moves? Uh…"

Pepper used ember again, then jumped to her side and repeated over and over again, circling the dog while acting like a spit roast.

However… it did diddly to the stoutland. Other than slightly singing his fur and making him continuously turn to the right, the stoutland was completely unaffected by Pepper's endeavors. So either Pepper was extremely weak, or this dog was extremely jacked. Or both.

Covering for my melting brain, Timburr acted as a distraction of sorts. She abandoned her log (probably because she knew she couldn't use it) and literally jumped into the fray. She gave him a sick drop kick. This pushed the stoutland back, giving her time to use it again.

"Join in." That was the one thing out of infinite others that I said. How stupid it was.

But oh, did Pepper know what to do. She charged in with tackle and struck the same spot Timburr had been kicking him. Then, they took turns wailing on the dog.

This was short-lived, though. When I looked at the stoutland, his face wasn't really pained. He seemed more annoyed than anything. "Get away from it," I shouted once I saw him open his mouth, fangs glowing red and fire spewing out.

With a deafening roar, he snapped his jaws closed, latching onto Pepper. He picked her up and swung her around like a toy, fire from whatever move he used engulfing her. At least it wasn't very effective?

"Oh my god."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Timburr huck a decent-sized rock at the stoutland. It hit his butt and made him drop Pepper, who landed upright and ran back to breathe. She threw another rock, landing a solid hit on the stoutland's head.

He shook it off and faced Timburr, teeth bared and bent down, ready to charge whilst growling. The next move, he shot at her with absurd speed and force, coated in white. From my spot, I couldn't see the poor fighting-type anymore.

"Ember, ember!" My wires got crossed and I thought Pepper was Tempest for a moment.

It was too late, though. The stoutland already stopped running by the time I said that. So, I edged around to try to see what happened. And, wow, was I actually impressed.

Timburr stood like a pitcher, log held up at a 45-degree angle due to her leg kicking it at the end on the ground. The dog kneeled down while rubbing its nose. All I could guess that happened was he hit the log head-on and hurt himself.

Grunting with satisfaction, she let go of the log, which fell down and whacked the stoutland on the head. Just then, Pepper unleashed ember. Again, it seemed like she did no damage to him. However, when I looked closer, the stoutland was kind of on fire. A patch of fur was burnt blackish, too, some strands falling off and revealing red flesh.

"He's burned?" I tried to remember if ember could burn. Either way, the fire seemed to greatly hinder him as he struggled to stand up, front paws nursing his head. "Is that log legal?" That was the bigger question. But, I guessed that since she struggled just to hold it, it was sort of okay.

The stoutland barked his head off, dragging a paw in the dirt like a charging bull. Once again, he shot ahead with such speed and force, aiming for Timburr.

She jumped forward, ever so slightly dodging the dog. Did she really have time for style points?

I stared at the stoutland intently and watched as his focus broke before he ended his attack, really just running straight instead of using whatever move he was trying to use.

"Oh, well, ember again." If we were lucky, that stoutland would wear himself out soon enough.

Just as Pepper inhaled, the stoutland turned around and charged yet again. Only this time, he seemed more threatening.

He howled like his life depended on it. Oh, yes, were we doomed.

He came at us, mainly at Timburr who just so happened to stand beside Pepper to catch her breath. With such power, surrounded by an orange and purple aura bubble, he leaped and hurtled towards the two small pokémon in what I knew was the move giga impact. I saw Joel's slaking Queen use it plenty of times on televised tournaments to know it by heart.

"No, no, both of you get out of there somehow!" As I said that, I ran as far as I could to avoid any trace of the move hitting me. Queen's giga impact caused dirt to fly up in the air in clumps and affect anything in like a twenty-foot radius. Pebbles and rocks often came up too.

I hid behind a convenient tree and peered out with mixed feelings. On one hand, I was safe. On the other, I didn't even try to help them besides just barely shout a warning when it was probably too late to even help. But, then again, what could I have done to help? There was literally nothing I could do, except maybe return Pepper. But, even then, what of Timburr?

Timburr kicked Pepper like a pigskin, sending her flying a few feet away to safety. Then, she jumped away herself, but I could see that at least her legs would get knocked by the stoutland.

Time seemed to slow down. As I kept watching, I saw Pepper stand up and call out, probably for Timburr. Then, the charging stoutland gained a pink-ish color to its giga impact. With this, he veered a hard left, pink immediately leaving his aura once his direction changed.

My sights shifted to Pawn, who held his head with one arm in what looked like great focus. Before I went over to check out the mess before me, I watched as the stoutland kept going until he ran into a tree, collision causing a puff of dust to go up.

Once it settled, the dog lay on its stomach, eyes closed. The tree tilted over by about fifteen degrees.

"Pawn, Pepper, you…?" I approached Pawn, who walked over to the stoutland while panting heavily and clutching his head. Pepper approached me and immediately collapsed, panting up a storm herself. Timburr came by too, dragging her log across the dirt and scratching her head like a human ruffled their hair in frustration.

"What happened?" Why were we even here to begin with? Where did that stoutland come from? Why did he have to steal the goddamn log?

Pawn came up to us carrying the unconscious dog. "Are you okay? You used psychic, right?"

He nodded his head and bounced the dog in his arms. I saw the stoutland twitch his foot, so he certainly was alive.

"Let's show him to Nurse Joy." I returned Pepper, then looked to Pawn. "No, wait, what about the room?"

The warning poster I read not half an hour ago came back to me. Was I seriously a victim of that asshole? If so, was he truly so dedicated to his trolling as to train up this huge stoutland just to abandon it in a stranger's room and cause unknown chaos? Chaos that he wouldn't be around to see?

"Keep an iron grip on that thing." With that, we went back to my room.

Pawn bumped me to the side with his hip once I twisted the doorknob. He went in first, still clutching the sleeping dog, to turn on the lights. Before he gave me the okay, I saw him take a step back and stiffen up.

When I stepped in, I did the same as Pawn. Who wouldn't have?

The bedding and actual bed of the room were torn to literal shreds. The carpet had huge claw markings and generous patches of golden and blue fur, like the stoutland was shedding. The lamp and television sat on the floor, completely broken. Chunks of the walls had holes and cracks, most definitely from the dog running into them.

Such destruction that rendered the room reminiscent of a junkyard. And that wasn't even the worst part. All that stuff was probably from the stoutland. But there was more, things that a human had to have done.

My eyes shot to the most obvious offender: the wall the television once leaned against. A disgusting green, similar to one people made bio-slime on television, marred the white wallpaper, likely spray paint.

Scrawled in handwriting just barely better than mine was a giant _fuck you_. Literally.

The words _FUCK YOU_ in huge letters stared at me from on high.

"That's mature," I managed to cough out. I couldn't tell whether I was supposed to laugh or burst into tears at that. Who broke into someone's room just to write that? Never mind the stoutland.

I turned around and more graffiti greeted me. This time, in red similar to that of a teacher's pen, _GIVE UP GO DIE_ was written, words stacked upon each other.

_Couldn't use punctuation or something?_ I thought to myself in a failed effort to ignore the shitty feeling I got from this. This was why I didn't go out much. This was why I didn't like talking to other people, my skepticism manifest.

Scribbled elsewhere on the wall in black marker were dejecting phrases of similar sentiment, all of which I wished I hadn't read. A similar motif among all of them was failure.

Who the hell went around doing this stuff? And how much money in repairs did they leave behind doing this garbage? And how many other rooms got this treatment? I was a cynic too, but I never acted on my hate-filled impulses.

What really got me was that despite the fact that this incident seemed like it was aimed at whoever was renting this room with how unspecific its trash talk was, it still got me. I already knew I wasn't going to go far. So why did this stranger of a vandal have to hammer it home?

"I have to report this, don't I?" It was something too severe to just walk away from. Plus, I was a victim. And if I didn't tell someone, I would have to clean the mess myself to prevent myself from being called the vandal.

With a sigh, Pawn exited the room, still carrying the stoutland. I should probably have found Nurse Joy already to ease Pawn's burden.

Timburr huffed. I almost forgot she was there. She leaned against the wall outside, trying to carry her log without it touching the ground.

"Let's g-"

"Nurse Joy!" someone screeched from outside. I popped my head out and saw a small crowd surrounding the nurse standing a few doors down. "Someone broke into my room and broke everything."

"The public bathroom is a mess, too," a man added. "The walls are covered with brown… stuff, and the mirrors are ruined with marker." Was he censoring himself? No, there was no way someone took shit into their hands and rubbed it against the wall.

"The battlefields outside are covered with hidden stealth rocks and toxic spikes! My pokémon need help!"

Those were just some of the complaints I heard before I found myself slowly wandering toward the poor nurse swamped with angry folk. When I got close enough, a few people looked my way and quieted down, probably at the sight of Pawn and the dog he carried. With a nudge from the gallade, I said, "There was this crazy stoutland in my room."

"Okay, everyone, let's calm down. I understand the situation and hope to have everything sorted out as soon as possible. As we work to try to retrieve the footage from our security cameras, I ask that you all follow me to receive compensation." Why did she say _try_?

Very professional. But, seriously? Who was this asshole vandal? They went to such great lengths to bully people. Was this really what they did with their life?

On another note, compensation? I needed money, so...

I learned shortly after that compensation meant a new room for free and taking the stoutland off my hands (and that she said _try_ to get the security footage because the cameras were hacked or some bullshit like that). Not one to argue and cause a scene over exaggerated (or perhaps genuine) emotional distress, I took the card key and left quietly.

**~X~**

Scribbled in various places in my journal were these:

I'll follow you in this chase

A game practically a charade

Pretending I like it

Inside I detest it

Yet suck it up for future days

**-O-**

Go ahead and make a scene

As if the shame doesn't demean

I'll try, try again

Fail up until ten

Till finally I learn this was your dream

**-O-**

You insult me as if I enjoy it

Your sick game of tat for tit

In the end, you win

But I'll call you has-been

As you pretend that you're innocent

**-O-**

You keep me on a long, long leash

And so, everything is so close, but out of reach

I run, then it chokes

Somehow I am a joke

For believing your rabid dog isn't me

**-O-**

The dirty walls of lies start closing in on me

Graffiti towering over, screaming blasphemy

That this could occur

To this boring trainer

I can't convince myself it's plain profanity


	4. Walking a Fine Line

Currently, I stood on a battlefield outside the pokémon center with a sign on it. _Clear for battle_, it read. On other fields, round flying pokémon that looked like a cross between some ancient artifact and a fruity party ball swept the grounds with security guards. Sigilyph, apparently. They used psychic and uprooted rocks and strange barbs from the ground. Apparently the work of the poké center vandal from earlier.

Beside me, the timburr stood with her log, using the ground as support of course. "You know, after all this bull, I might as well catch you. Any objections?"

I wanted to go to sleep already. I held an empty poké ball above her and waited for a response before dropping it. When I heard the capsule hit the ground, I looked to see the timburr across the field with her hand saying _come at me_.

"Oh, come on, we still have to battle after all this?" She dropped the log and flexed her arms with a cry.

"You're killing me." Reluctantly, I pulled out a ball and tossed it. Out came Tempest.

"Air cutter." One, two. "Air cutter." Three, four. "Air cutter."

The move flew out and homed in on the timburr. She lifted her log again and held it like shield, but ended up dropping it last minute, taking the brunt of the attack. "Quick attack." One, two. "Quick attack." I got even more tired. "Quick attack."

Tempest went in again and slammed against the timburr before she stood. At this, I regretted picking her. If she couldn't one-shot anyone, I would have to talk more than I wanted to.

With quick reflexes, Timburr sprang back up to grab a nearby rock and throw it at Tempest, who had flown in the air and cooed haughtily. This pidove... She fell to the ground, and the timburr proceeded to kick her. It turned into weird yet powerful slaps, probably pound.

"Gust." I didn't think she heard me. Even if she did, it probably wouldn't have helped any as the timburr had Tempest pinned down good. "Uh.. "

Without even thinking, I returned Tempest and sent out Pepper. That was a fair move, right?

"Ember." Looking around in a tizzy after Tempest disappeared, Timburr didn't notice the fire soaring toward her. It hit her back, causing a face plant that just missed her log. "Again."

The timburr didn't stand up after that. So, I held the poké ball I dropped before and took aim. I chucked it and felt my body relax. Until I tensed back up when she sprang to her feet to kick the ball back at me. By some miracle, I caught the deflected capsule and readied myself to go another round.

"You can't make this any easier? I helped you with your log!" She looked like she was laughing. At me or just because, who knew.

"Ember." When would Pepper learn another move? I felt bad just saying the same one over and over again.

Timburr squatted down and grunted super loud, glowing a strange white while grunting to the skies above. Allowing herself to take the ember head-on, she held steady in her focused state.

"One more time?" I said as I thumbed through Timburr's dex entry to see what move it could have been. Once I found out, I immediately changed my mind. "Forget that. Back out, back out."

Bide was the move, and if Timburr had as much endurance as she appeared to have (despite passing out from exhaustion yesterday), Pepper would be toast. And of course, I was too late in my discovery. Pepper shot ember out and looked back at me once I gave my correction.

Timburr shouted unusually loudly upon impact. "Alright, you win, just don't hurt us!" She sounded like she was going for the kill. At least, a kill.

Her own.

Once she took the hit, I stared intently at her and waited for the sweet release. It never came, though. She fell back, no longer glowing.

"Do we win?" I waited to see if she would get up. Instead of bouncing back on her feet like I thought, Timburr stayed down. "Um, don't smack this back again."

I threw the poké ball again, but kind of missed. It hit her log, then bounced back to roll on down to touch her foot. Timburr went into the capsule instantaneously, and for some reason, so did her log. I held my breath and hoped she wouldn't pop out.

The ball shook once, then twice. Without any dramatic pauses, it did it a third time, then stopped moving. I walked over to pick it up and send her back out. Once she materialized, Timburr stood her log up on the ground and held it with one hand, pumping her tiny fist with the other.

"Uh, welcome?" What was I supposed to say? "I guess we think of a name for you?"

She stuck her nose in the air. Pepper did the same but kind of laughed in doing so.

"The hell name would work?" I thumbed through her dex entry earlier, and boy did she get ripped when she evolved. For the sake of both of us, I wasn't going to shoot for a muscle pun or anything of the sort.

She turned away and tried to deadlift her log as I lost myself for a moment.

"Buff...y?" Guessed I was a liar. At this, she dropped her log and looked straight at me. Did she feel second-hand embarrassment? Pepper tapped the log with her head. Whether it was a distraction from the awkward silence that ensued or from her own boredom, I was thankful for it since Timburr went back to lifting soon after.

"What do you want from me? You probably don't want to be named Rose or something like that, right? The ironic name is-"

I got cut off by Timburr's cocky grunting. She tilted her head left and right before shaking it with a big smile.

"Satisfied? Uh, no, really. Rose? You're Rose now?" I got another front in response. "Sure, okay…" At least that was quick and relatively painless. And, it was a one-syllable name! Something went right today. "Sure, then. Rose is Rose."

**~X~**

"I don't want to do this." I stood inside the poké center, peering out from behind a pillar at a group of people gathered outside at the battlefields. There must have been at least forty people, all chatting with their pokémon by their side. Nearby was a refreshment table.

I stared at the flyer in front of me and read it over and over again to make sure I had it right. And I did: a gathering for trainers, new and old to battle and mingle. That meant money, if I won any matches. And I needed money.

Pawn pushed me and pointed at the exit. "I know I said I would try a battle, but maybe I can wait for the next one or something." Last night, when I first saw the flyer, I convinced myself to attend this meet-and-greet for the sake of my wallet.

But, saying and doing were completely different things. Plus, I was a coward. When I exited my room earlier, my stomach churned and my chest weighed down at the prospect of embarrassing myself in front of strangers.

Pawn sighed an especially long sigh. He stared through me as I fumbled to throw a piece of gum in my mouth.

"I really don't want to do this." I took a small step forward, counting the tiles on the floor. Pawn then pushed me ahead and kept doing so. If I didn't want to fall, I had to walk with him, which I did. The automatic door greeted us by opening, and with a lead foot, I stepped outside.

Instinctively, I adjusted my posture and straightened my face, keeping my mouth closed and not complaining anymore. I dragged my feet and stood against the wall of the poké center, distant from the other people. I needed some time to psych myself up, alright?

My peace was interrupted almost immediately as some guy walked up to me with a yellow bipedal pokémon with an angular mustache and spoons in tow. "Yo, you're here to battle, right? Your gallade looks pretty tough, and my alakazam could use a challenge. How about it?"

Dear God, why? Of course it was Pawn that drew attention. For me, Pawn shook his head and waved his hands, stepping back. "Uh, he can't battle…"

"Why not? Something happen to him?" Strangely considerate for a stranger. "Just a friendly battle. No stakes, alright? For fun."

"No, he's, uh, my brother's gallade. I can't battle with him." I hoped I said it loud enough so I wouldn't have to repeat myself.

"Oh, really? Too bad, man. Is your brother here, then?"

"Try Black City," I said with a cough-y chuckle.

"Oh, too bad. Well, you got any other pokémon you can battle with?"

This guy was barking at the wrong tree. His alakazam looked strong as he stared Pawn down. I appreciated what he was trying to do, assuming he was genuine, but we were on different levels, most likely. "Well, I started my journey like two days ago, dude."

"Oh? Well, I just caught a darumaka yesterday that isn't too strong yet. Why don't we battle?" He held a hand out and gestured to an empty battlefield with the other. "Can't hurt, yeah?"

"Uh…" Before I could come up with a subtle excuse, Pawn pushed me forward and cheered. "I guess…"

"Sweet! Name's Alex."

"Eloise." Three syllables, and I had somewhat of a slur to my words. A perfect name to say to everyone I met.

"Let's go!" Alex ran to the opposite side of the field as I walked to the spot meant for me. As I waited for him to settle down, I looked to my left and right, where two other battles raged on. One with a couple of black and white flying squirrel things, the other with a pair of gears and some white tapeworm. "Burst!"

I looked back to Alex and saw him send out what apparently was a darumaka, some fire type. Well, Pepper didn't have an advantage, and Rose had the risk of ruining her log with fire, so I reluctantly picked who was left over. "Tempest."

Out came my pidove, looking as worriless as ever. She and Burst or whoever glanced at each other and did anything but assume battle stances. "Come on, Burst!" Alex and his alakazam did similar poses, stomping one foot down and holding an arm out. "Anyway, if you have _Spar Star_, wanna register and put money on this?"

"Kinda, yeah." I had nothing to lose. "But, I'm kinda broke."

"Ah, so am I. How's about half stakes for a one-on-one?" He crossed the battlefield as I set up my Xtranceiver. We traded info and selected _Begin Battle_ on our screens. "You can get, like, 10,000 poké."

Had I been drinking something, I would have choked on it. That was _kinda broke_ to him? "And you can get like 1,000."

"Sure, let's start!" He went back to his spot and held a short-lived, quiet conversation with his darumaka, possibly a pep talk. Did he know he only had things to lose in this? Like his money and pride?

"Strange guy. But, here's a chance." Not my chance, but a chance. "Tempest, Tempest." She spread her wings and looked at her opponent.

"I'll go first, if you don't mind." He didn't give me a chance to say otherwise. "Burst, rollout!"

"Wait, what? Uh, up, up!" The little guy turned into a small ball and shot for Tempest. In time, she flew up and he missed, however… "The hell, man?"

I ended up dodging myself. When I looked back, he did a wide turn and shot back for Tempest, bouncing to get air. He smacked into her and both fell to the ground with no grace in the least bit. To our advantage, Tempest landed on top of him. "Oh, gust." One, two. "Gust." Three, four. "Gust, goddamn it!"  
A small twister shot at the darumaka and swirled around him.

"Air cutter." Good God, how stupid did this look to Alex and anyone else who looked on, if any? "Air cutter."

"Yo, what are you doing?" Alex asked the golden question. "Everything alright?"

"Well, my pidove is… a little slow on the uptake." I looked at the ground until I heard Tempest coo. "Air cutter."

She landed a clean hit through the gust. Once the wind subsided, Burst was on his back punching the ground. "Don't give up already! You can do it, just use fire fang."

As reluctant as I was exiting the center, Burst rose and bared his teeth. Like that stoutland from yesterday, his mouth flared up as he charged Tempest. My mind flickered back to Sylviana's battle at Striaton Restaurant. If only we could emulate that. "Air cutter."

With a coo, she turned around and looked at me with the blankest face I'd ever seen. Of course she didn't hear me. That darumaka was getting closer, and he shouted in his endeavors.

"Quick attack!" I said hopelessly. The collision was inevitable. Before Tempest could charge up, Burst tackled her down and chomped on her wing.

Tempest flailed wildly in place. "Uh, try going up or something." I had no idea what kind of wing strength she had.

One string of coos later, it turned out she didn't even need me. Her flailing eventually caused Burst to let go and retreat.

"Nice job?" I had to give it to her. If only I had given her a command so that I could have been proud of that. "Air cutter."

"Burst, rollout again, before they get it out!" Alex struggled to get that sentence out, each mouthful having strange pauses between words. Beside him, his alakazam shook his head, I guessed in embarrassment. At that, Alex elbowed his partner. "Cut me some slack, Mayvin."

Did the alakazam just roll his eyes? Either way, I couldn't laugh at their weird dynamic as Burst rolled toward Tempest again.

"Air cutter." One, two. "Air cutter. Any time now."

Tempest cast her move at Burst, his rolling causing the air cutter to hit him sooner and probably harder. Upon impact, he stopped coming at her, face down on the ground.

"You good, man?" Alex walked across the field to his pokémon and squatted down. He poked the little guy, and when he got no response, flipped Burst over to reveal a dejected darumaka covered in dirt.

Burst shook his head (more like his whole body given his shape) and turned away from Tempest and me, eyes barely open. "Okay, then… Guess that's it for us." Alex returned Burst and shrugged. "Good battle. Your pidove's interesting, alright."

"Oh, I know. Oh, do I." I glanced at Tempest who started pecking at her wing.

"I'm not trying to make excuses, but I was kinda out of it. I'm not used to close quarters. I usually have special attackers like Mayvin here. Just a preference." He elbowed his alakazam again, who returned the nudge.

"Anyway…" Did he actually get hurt from that baby elbow his pokémon gave him? Alex held his arm up and tapped his Xtransceiver. "_Loser_ this time."

I brought my own Xtransceiver to my face and pressed the _Winner_ icon in a daze. Had I really won that? I had! The entries from me and Alex agreed, and my new win-loss ratio filled the screen. A whopping 1-1.

"Ah, man." I glanced at Alex's win rate. An impressive 97-149. He must have had a lot of experience. I wouldn't say anything about how many more losses he experienced than wins. So, either he let me win, or he really only did know how to work with pokémon that used special attacks. Then, did I really win?

"Damn." I chose to lose myself in other thoughts to convince myself of this victory. Like how _Spar Star_ relied only on the honor system. Who know if win rates were accurate or not? Or if battles happened at all? Well, the app was just for bragging rights, so I guessed it was fine.

"Anyway, here, what I owe. I'm gonna go give Burst to Nurse Joy." Alex held out a small bundle of money to me. "Catch another battle. Let's see if you can hold a streak. My best ever was five in a row!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I should probably stick to my guns, though. Hopefully Burst can adapt… Enough, Mayvin!" Alex swatted his alakazam's hand. From what I could see and guess, his pokémon kept poking him with a spoon for whatever reason.

"Bye..." And off he went. I drifted to the same spot Alex had approached me at and sighed. Was that a draining experience or what.

Naturally, I counted my winnings. Alex was actually right, having given me 10,000 poké exactly. If I could, I would have went back to my room. But, I knew that money wasn't going to last long.

"Hey, you up for a battle?" a high-pitched voice asked. I turned to see a girl with really long hair facing me.

"Me?"

"Yeah, I saw you battle that guy with an alakazam. Why don't we go?"

"Uh…" Pawn prodded my back again. "Sure."

"Sweet! Come on!" She dashed to the same field Alex and I had just used and waited for me.

I looked at my feet to see Tempest half-asleep. I returned her and walked on. When I got to the girl, we registered Xtransceivers and started our one-on-one battle. From the challenge screen, I learned her name was Bonnie.

"Half stakes, okay?"

"Sure." I wanted to know what she would give me, but chickened out and instead grasped Rose's poké ball.

"Who will you use?" Bonnie held her hands together and tapped a foot.

"Rose. Let's dance…" My heart couldn't have been any less in the line I used.

"Great!" she said upon seeing my timburr come out. "Too bad for you. Emma!"

"The hell?" I stood in awe that she actually said something like that out loud. She tossed a great ball and out came one of those flying squirrels that Alex and I battled next to earlier, an emolga.

"Aerial ace!" She didn't even give me time to close the dex app before she started. Her pokémon came at Rose at mach speed.

"Hey, can you, uh, work your log or not?" I said as quickly as I could. "So either use it as a shield or get out of there."

Rose loudly breathed out her nose like she couldn't believe I said that. She stomped a foot on one end of her log and reached down with an arm to pick it up. It came off the ground to form a 30-degree angle with it before Emma crashed into her.

"Let go of the goddamn log before you get hurt." I watched as Rose got pushed back only to the point of falling down because of the iron grip she had on her wood. She shouted, it seemed, at me. Was she arguing with me? I thought we were on the same side!

"Rock throw, before we end up losing. Please?"

"Spark!" Bonnie hopped as she said it. Emma, crackling with electricity, charged at Rose again.

Rose stomped the ground with purpose, somehow causing it to splinter. From the cracks, she took a decent-sized rock in both hands and lifted with her legs. So she had leg day down pat, but skipped arm day? Seemed a little ironic to me. "What are you waiting for? Just go."

She swung the rock thrice before letting go just in time for the emolga to crash into it at full force. Kind of like a granny throw in bowling.

"You got it, yeah… So low kick." The downed squirrel had to make for an easy target. Rose lifted a leg and smiled before driving it into the side of Emma, causing her to leave the ground for a few seconds before kicking her again when bringing her leg back down. "Pound, pound." Tempest, why did you corrupt me?

Rose punched at Emma as the latter assumed a weird fetal position. "Ugh! Thunderbolt."

"Say what?" The field lit up yellow as electricity shot out from the emolga and fried Rose. "Oh, shit." Rose immediately fell once the move subsided.

"Acrobatics!" Bonnie didn't waste time.

"Can you get up or roll away?" Once I finished speaking, Rose tried turning herself to the right, but stopped as Emma delivered her move.

"Again!"

"Oh, come on!" I said it more to Bonnie than Rose. "Maybe bide if you can't get out of the way?" Rose glowed white and braced herself while curling up on the ground. Emma came again, and once Rose got hit, my timburr stopped glowing.

"Rose?" She didn't answer.

"Guess I won!" Bonnie bounced on towards me and gave an innocent smile.

"Yeah…" She didn't exactly cheat, but her victory didn't bode well for me. Waited on me just so she could pick a type advantage… And was that emolga unnecessarily fast.

We concluded our battle on _Spar Star_ and I gave her the money. Before it even touched her hands, though, she walked by me and waved some other trainer down for a battle.

"You good? Wanna try again or go heal?" I jutted a thumb at the poké center as I approached Rose. She sat up and shook her head, holding her hands like for a fistfight.

"Got it, got it…" Not like we had anything else to do. I dug through my bag and pulled out a potion. "Just hold still for a second." I sprayed her with the medicine from a distance and watched as she pretended it didn't sting. I only knew that because when I got up and turned around to dispose of the bottle, she let out a cry and clutched the spot I sprayed her. Like I couldn't hear her just because I couldn't see her. I did see her from the corner of my eye, though.

"Hey, up for a battle?" The guy I saw with the pair of gears from earlier approached me. Should I have made an effort to approach other people? Yeah, but…

"Sure." I threw the empty potion away and followed him to a field, both of us booting _Spar Star _up.

The guy, Carlo, sent his gears out again. Rose jumped into the fray before I considered anyone. At least she had a type advantage. With a gulp, I managed to take the initiative. "Low sweep."

**~X~**

When night fell, I collapsed on my bed and stared at my win ratio. After the whole day spent battling, I left when everyone started clearing out and tried to convince myself I did good. My win ratio became a strange 11-8 after everything was said and done, every battle I participated in a one-on-one, most of which went down as One Hit Outs. Most of the victories were courtesy of Rose, who refused to stop demonstrating her strength even when I acknowledged it.

"Good God…" I was exhausted right when the first guy challenged me. Forget about all the bouts I had today. My stomach gurgled as I realized I hadn't eaten at all due to the meet-and-greet. Though the refreshment table was tempting and free, I made myself not go near it at all. Public eating gave me fear enough to make me not hungry in the moment.

Giving a peppy cry, Pawn passed me one of the meals we bought for dinner with one hand and the TV remote with the other. At that, I felt really bad at the fact that he acted more like my babysitter than a traveling guide or whatever it was Joel intended him to be for me.

"Thanks…" I turned the TV on and switched to _Cooking Network _for Pepper, who sat in front of the screen in wait with her dinner in front of her. On either side was Tempest and Rose, who both watched on with blank faces. I wasn't going to say anything since we didn't have to fill the air with small talk if the TV was on.

I stabbed the potatoes in front of me just as my Xtransceiver went off. A text from Sylviana. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen her at all today. _Sorry, bisy 2morow. Meet up soon? _it read. I really wanted to believe she typed like that only because she was in a rush.

_Sure_ was my response. That only begged the question, though, as to what to do tomorrow. Today had been quite eventful and somewhat beneficial, but was enough action to last a while. For me, at least.

Snapping me out of my thoughts was Rose, who had polished off her food, grunted, and bent to pick her log up again.

"Watch the TV!" I jumped off the bed and helped her carry her lethal weapon. "At least try with both hands."

Did she seriously expect to be able to wield that hefty log on her first attempt when her last weapon, that stick she poked us with, weighed not even a pound? And with one hand? Either way, I led us away from the expensive television and helped Rose in her weird endeavor to lift her log easily. "You're gonna hurt yourself like that."

She tried shaking me off, but if I let go, I knew she was going to drop it on herself sooner or later.

Tempest cooed and Pepper oinked in response. At least those two got along.

"Rose, at least get a grip on this thing." She had both hands pressed against opposite lateral sides of the log, like that would give her support. It was more like she was trying to flatten it than carry it.

The next day followed in a similar manner to that night. Except for the fact that I slept in quite a bit, we wasted the whole day pretty much just watching TV, eating, and trying to make sure Rose didn't hurt anyone, namely herself.

**~X~**

"Why?" I walked out of Nacrene City with Pawn practically holding a knife to my back. Well, more like his arm, but they had blades attached to them, right?

That was beside the point. Just a few minutes ago, Sylviana texted me to say she was busy again today. Doing what, I hadn't a clue, but I wasn't going to intrude on her life because I was inept. I wasn't that horrible. At my saying we should wait for her, Pawn dragged me out of the poké center and pointed at the western exit of the town.

"Let's just wait for Sylviana. She wanted to help me try this gym, anyway." It was more of a cover to not leave the city than anything else. Sue me for being lazy. He shook his head and kept pushing me until we exited Nacrene City, straight through Pinwheel Forest, and into a small gate area for the Skyarrow Bridge.

"How much longer?" I knew Castelia City was after this bridge. I also knew that this bridge was damn long. And that I was exhausted already. We had walked for about half an hour.

To appease Pawn and make it the least painful it could be, I shut up and kept walking. I stepped out, sun blinding and hot. At this rate, I would have a sick tan line around my Xtransceiver by the time we reached Castelia.

The literally bright Skyarrow Bridge greeted us as we ascended some stairs. "This is gonna take a while."

It wasn't impossible to cross this bridge, but I certainly wouldn't do it willingly. Progress versus comfort? If I waited for Sylviana, she probably would have called a car service again, so there was that. But, since we already made it this far, I might as well have kept going. Raised the chance of something interesting happening, at least.

A sign saying something about bike rentals with an arrow pointing to the lower level of the bridge's cycling lane caught my eye. Despite my looks, I actually did know how to ride a bike. And I was not too bad at it. The thought of the cost and holding unpredictable conversation with whoever manned the rental station made me keep walking.

Since the part of the bridge I walked had no real incline, I took the longest and quickest strides I could. Soon enough, I saw another person ahead of us. By her feet were a couple of small pokémon having the time of their lives.

Pawn made a noise and a throwing motion with his arm, then smacked my bag, practically reading my mind. "Is it even safe to let them out? Forget about if we're even allowed to." No, would any of them actually have wanted to walk this bridge? Maybe Rose, but Tempest was probably better off in her ball. Pepper sat somewhere in between.

Lost in my thoughts, I passed the woman with pokémon out and walked on, eyes glued to the floor ahead of me. Only when I heard a chorus of _Oh_s did I look up to see a small crowd gathered in the middle of the bridge. Seriously, it was maybe twenty-feet wide? They had to block the whole road?

A small gap existed between the back of some guy and the railing of the bridge. I dove in to try to slickly maneuver through. On my way, I looked at the center of the commotion and realized a pokémon battle waged on.

A pretty big yellow spider faced a pokémon that looked like a giant ice cream cone. Kind of intrigued as to how this made people clog up foot traffic, I stopped to watch as well. A galvantula versus a vanilluxe, it turned out to be.

"Use frost breath!" a guy with a pair of gauge earrings called out. The temperature suddenly dropped as the vanilluxe exhaled a chilly white mist at the spider.

"Dodge and thunderbolt!" a girl wearing a sleeve of bracelets commanded. Galvantula jumped high and landed on a support pillar of the bridge. He crackled with electricity and shot a bolt at Vanilluxe. Yeah, don't mind damage to public property or anything.

"Protect." A green bubble shielded Vanilluxe, absorbing the thunderbolt without repercussion.

"That's so boring. You use that every other turn!" Bracelets made a motion with her hand and Galvantula came back to the ground, avoiding the ice patch formed from the earlier frost breath.

"If you're so good, then why's this battle still going on?" Gauges crossed his arms and chuckled. "Ice beam."

At that point, I got bored and decided to walk away. At least it seemed like no one cared if I had pokémon out or not. So, once the crowd stood far enough behind me, I sent everyone out. Rose fell to the ground and slumped against her log. Pepper stood in wait, wagging her tail, while Tempest perched on Pepper's back. I had to admit, my pidove sure looked pretty regal there. Did she hit her head?

"We walk on?"

Pepper bounded close to my feet while Rose lagged behind, dragging her log. Pawn offered a hand to her, but every time he did, she swatted him away. Realizing that anyone could pass us by and see the mess that was the unyielding Rose, I turned around and walked back, waiting for the timburr to either ask for help or manage on her own.

It took a few minutes for her to lift the log and take steps forward. The wood hovered extremely close to the bridge below, but Rose held her breath (her cheeks were seriously puffed out) and kept walking. I came up the rear to make sure she didn't hurt herself with Pepper still by my side.

At least Pepper and Tempest knew when to behave. Rose was probably not going to listen to me well until she could handle her log. She could surely hold it better than she did yesterday, but she had a long way to go. "You got it, Rose?"

She tripped on nothing. "How long is this bridge?" I looked to Pawn, who spanned his arms and shrugged. Apparently the longest bridge in Unova, I didn't particularly fancy myself some sightseeing.

As we hugged the right side of the bridge, I noticed we passed by yet another battle. Two rock behemoths ran into each other like sumo wrestlers without arms. I made sure to quicken my pace to avoid any trouble. Other than several people also crossing the bridge, nothing of interest came up for a while.

My mind emptied as I stared ahead with no real purpose. How did this happen? I would have never thought I would cross the entirety of Skyarrow Bridge in my life. Yet, there I was, walking right foot after the left. Damn, was it boring and tiresome.

A few boats passed under the bridge as we crossed, as well as a few ducklett above. Some busking performers here and there made for ambient noise. A couple more battles happened along the long, long bridge as well. None of which caught my attention. Everything blurred together, and all I knew I wanted to do was finish crossing the bridge.

My breathing became heavier as time went on. Eventually, a halfway marker on a support beam gave me some hint of how far we were. To both my and Rose's delight, the timburr managed to keep carrying her log without it touching the ground the entire time. My delight only because that meant nothing bad happened.

Ahead, I saw the bridge went a little crazy in its design. It declined, but did so in a strange loop only for it to keep stretching straight ahead to another giant gate area. Another performer claimed the beginning of the loop as their own. I would have walked past them had I not heard the same booming bass I heard the other night.

To my left, I saw the same scrafty as before dancing yet again. Beside him was another scrafty, a taller one with a slightly different style than the other. The differences between the two mainly lied between their outfits' color scheme and their height. With nothing better to do, and seeing as though this was the third time I saw this scrafty, I joined the crowd gathered around the two pokémon.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed another difference between the two: each had a big gold chain around their necks, but the shorter one, the one I recognized, had the number 1 in gold, studded with what looked like diamonds attached to the necklace. The other had a 4 on it. They both had the same head tattoo, though.

I suppressed a laugh. Why the fuck were these scrafty wearing gold chains and break dancing in broad daylight? That didn't even matter as the song playing ended, resulting in strong applause and people throwing chump change into the two hats resting by the boombox set up.

Number 4 hit a button on the boombox and started another song. The two danced on, sometimes with each other, sometimes against as I dug through my bag to pull out money for the shorter scrafty. I might as well have since I did it before. And now, I even had money to spare. So, deciding to be generous, my good deed of the day would be giving Number 1 another 2,000 poké. For whatever purpose he needed it for.

As I pulled the money out, I noticed Rose sitting on her log with arms crossed, huffing and not watching the show. Pepper sat nicely and watched without attitude, while Tempest continued to perch on the tepig's back, seemingly asleep. Facing away from the performance for some reason, of course.

The song playing reached a climax. I clutched the money in my hand, waiting to contribute it when everyone else did. Number 1 did a tall backflip onto the guardrail of the bridge, bouncing in rhythm even after landing. Number 4 raised his arms to rally the crowd, clapping and hooting to the beat. The crowd followed, but I just kept watching.

Another loud beat came and Number 1 bent down. The next moment, he did another backflip, this time off the bridge to the ground below. Everyone gasped and ran to the guardrail to see what happened, including me.

Did he commit suicide just like that? No, there was no way. It had to be part of the act.

It turned out he landed in a cool pose, on one hand with his legs in the air, still on the bridge. The way the bridge bent ahead, it made a loop and gave way for Number 1 to land safely about twenty feet below.. Surprisingly, he didn't crack the bridge upon impact.

Number 4 jumped on the guardrail himself and made a parting motion with his hands. The crowd returned to their original positions. The music swelled, and the next thing we all knew, Number 1 flipped back to our level without any issue.

"That's actually super impressive," I murmured to myself.

"Burr." Rose yawned and lied down on her log. Was she seriously not impressed in the least bit with Number 1? For whatever reason, I kept thinking about how Rose had her leg strength down, but arms not. Those flips the scrafty did required only leg strength, so I made a wild guess she wouldn't care unless they started deadlifting or something.

Pepper, on the other hand, had a proper reaction to the performance, mouth dropped in awe. Forget about Tempest for a minute. Pawn only watched on politely.

The music ended and the scrafty took a bow. I went with the crowd and gave money, my big bills seeming unnecessarily much next to the person next to me's four coins. Here's to a life of excess for all. Not.

* * *

Author's note: I've wanted to call her Rose for a while. Let's just forget about Chairman Rose when we're here.

Anyways, since it's come to my attention that some people tend to skip poems and lyrics in stories, and also because I overthink and spend too much time mulling over the poems I have Eloise write, I think I'm only going to end chapters with them that are really important. In its place, I think I'm going to give a song recommendation that's either ironic or on-the-nose for the chapter and Eloise.

So I guess check out "Don't be Afraid" by Glitter Green if you're interested. Kind of doesn't fit the chapter, kind of does, but it would make Eloise mad for no reason at all.


	5. Experiences I Want to Forget

Money gone to the scrafty, I went back to my pokémon and checked the time. Just as I dropped my right arm, the one with my Xtransceiver, two little kids ran up to Pepper, reminiscent of those twins Sylviana and I battled before. Tell me we wouldn't have a battle on this bridge. The scrafty had yet to leave, so a crowd still stood nearby.

The two, a boy and a girl both as tall as Rose's log, squatted down in front of Pepper. "It's so cute!"

"Totally!" As the two got close, Tempest flew off Pepper's back to stand by Rose.

Okay, not what I expected. As much as I agreed with them, who were they? It wasn't like I would chase them off or bring attention to myself at all, though. I stepped back a little and decided to wait it out. Meanwhile, Pepper wagged her tail like a metronome, a huge smile on her face as the two kids complimented her.

"Her ears are like a bunny's!"

"And the tail is so curly!"

To my surprise, the kids knew the golden rule of look, don't touch. Though, they did lean in uncomfortably close to Pepper. But man was she oinking up a storm. Did she revel in it or what?

"She's so happy!"

"Her voice is so cute!" Their compliments had a pretty obvious theme, though it was hard to argue with it. Pepper sat down and held a hoof to her face in a cutesy pose. Was she a model now?

"Did you see that?"

"I love her!"

Okay, the kids were fine at first, but this got kind of old. And their screeching voices did them no favor in my book. I looked to Pawn, who leaned over the guardrail and stared off into the distance. Didn't know he was a romantic. "This ever happen to you?" He waved his hand. I didn't expect him to seriously answer. "Like the view?"

He only grunted and shrugged. Riveting. Again, at least he was having fun.

"Pepper, oh, Pepper." She struck more cute poses and kept smiling at the compliments raining down on her. "How long is this gonna last?"

Rose gave a loud grunt. The sight I saw before me wasn't one I wanted to forget in the near future. Rose took Tempest into her hands and started lifting the bird up and down with ease. Well, pidove weighed like three pounds, so it wasn't that impressive. But boy was the sight funny. Rose with her face like a stone mask, and Tempest clearly unaware of what was happening to her… Beautiful.

"Danny, Evan, time to go home," someone called in my direction. Next thing I knew, the two kids stood up and whined.

"Aw, I don't wanna leave yet."

"We have to. Bye-bye, Tepig!" Pepper oinked after them.

As soon as the kids left, I approached Pepper and tried something. "Aren't you cute?" Hopefully it didn't come out too stiff. She jumped into the air and landed on her hind legs like a horse would.

"Nice moves. Let's keep going, huh?" She walked close to my feet, clearly on cloud nine. So she liked being called cute? I guessed it wouldn't be too hard to remember.

When we got close enough to them, Rose sat Tempest on one end of her log and went to the middle of the wood. She hugged it tightly to lift it, finally with both arms in a way not just for show. Twitching her head, Rose didn't bother hiding her wanting to leave.

"Got it." Behind Rose, I bent down to adjust the angle she held her log a tad to make sure Tempest wouldn't fall off.

**~X~**

"Finally over." Pawn and I stepped through the gate to Castelia City, Pepper and co. returned to their poké balls. He hummed and poked my back. Was pushing me along Pawn's new favorite pastime?

"Poké center…" Yeah, I needed Sylviana. Even if she didn't know where the center was off the top of her head, she wasn't afraid of getting lost or asking for directions. Castelia City was huge, too.

Pawn held his head in one hand and grabbed my elbow with the other, quickening his pace to match mine. He dragged me straight ahead, dodging and diving through clusters of strangers until finally, a familiar red building sat to my right. This poké center looked kind of bigger than the other two I'd seen.

"Hooray…" We entered the center and I immediately shot for the check-in desk. At least I was more willing to go there on my own after two other attempts.

The line for check-ins stretched from a desk at the back to the wall opposite it. I got in line and waited. That was the one thing I was good at. Waited, waited, and waited as the line inched forward every few minutes. Pawn sat in an empty chair by other people and waved. Ha, like a parent waving goodbye to their kid walking to school alone for the first time…

I did nothing but stare at the clock hanging above the desk, anticipating each tick of the seconds hand, leading into the minutes hand, and a bit of the hour hand. This went on until only five people were in front of me. Possibly less since the way they were standing by each other, they could have been a single group.

My Xtransceiver buzzed. Sylviana's name and number flashed on the screen. _Were r u? Meet in front of the library at 1 k_, it read.

"You're kidding me," I breathed out, hidden in a sigh. It took us almost two hours to cross Skyarrow Bridge, mostly because Rose practically waddled across. With my normal speed, it might have taken an hour, maybe even under. Even still, my legs ached something fierce! I was tired, and already in Castelia Poké Center. Noon would be upon us in a short while.

But I had to suck it up. What was I supposed to tell Sylviana? No? How would she respond to that? How would I own up to that?

Easy: I wouldn't.

So, I texted back _Okay_ and left the line (which I had waited so long in) to poke Pawn, who had fallen asleep sitting up. "Nacrene gym…" I kind of sang in a low voice.

He was not amused. Crossing his arms, Pawn stood up and shook his head.

"Sylviana is waiting."

He grunted. I knew my brother told him to go straight to Castelia, but Nacrene was viable as well, right? I even had Sylviana waiting on me for this, so I couldn't really say no. That would be more trouble than it was worth.

Unable to make a sound argument, I literally locked up and stared at the floor. I had an obligation to meet up with Sylviana after sending my response, but I didn't want to argue with Pawn. And any longer with this conversation, people would start to stare at us. There was no winning. I hated it.

With a long grad, Pawn went behind me and pushed me toward the exit. I dragged my feet along until I noticed he guided me back to Skyarrow Bridge.

So he caved in? We would return to Nacrene City? That didn't really make me feel better. I managed to look at him from my clouded thoughts. My brother's gallade held a frown and kept patting my back. Boy, did that make it infinitely-times worse.

Why couldn't there be an easier answer, and why did I have to keep burdening Pawn?

**~X~**

Nacrene Museum was much busier than I thought it would be. Bunches of people scattered throughout the entry floor, most clutching some book close to them. Trying to figure out what all the hubbub was about, I noticed several posters and signs set up, all about some book signing event. I vaguely recalled seeing something like that earlier.

Ignoring the commotion, I let Sylviana push me to the back, where an entrance leading to the very dim library was. There, even more people stood around in hype. At a table to the back nestled between two bookshelves, a woman dressed in black and purple with glasses sat. A huge line of people stretching into the museum area stood in front of her. Beside the woman sat a stack of books. In her hand was a fancy ballpoint pen as she signed a book to hand the next person in line. She was Shauntal, one of Unova's Elite Four; I knew that much. To her side, providing light in the dark library, was a chandelure. I recalled my brother having one as well, so I recognized it.

"Start, El." Sylviana pulled me out of my observations as she pointed to the bookshelf in front of us. Two step ladders stood before it, each leading to a single book facing outward leaning atop the packed books. The same went for the other five shelves in the room. Up high, a hanging sign said we were in the S section.

But, wait, here? This gym's gimmick was in the library? Where so many people were right now? "Really?"

"Uh-huh. I couldn't figure this stupid place out. It took me forever by guessing. It's a stupid riddle game." Sylviana crossed her arms. "Good luck."

"Oh?" How that didn't bode well with me. Beside me, Pawn eyed the bookshelf warily, as if contemplating something. "How do you know this is the starting point?"

"Duh." Sylviana pointed at the book the step ladder led to. The title was _Start Here_. How convenient.

"So it works like that?"

"Yeah." Her Xtransceiver became her object of interest.

I could only guess I had to find something in that book. I reached up and grabbed it after making sure no one was watching me. Luckily, everyone seemed focused on Shauntal and nothing else. The step ladder seemed more a nuisance than help to me since I just had to extend my arm a little to touch it. And I was average height. It was probably for shorter people or something, but then, why not just put the book on a lower shelf at all?

Instead of continuing my train of thought, I stared at _Start Now_, currently in my hands. It was a thick book, and there was no way in Hell I was going to read it. It was a motivational book, even.

My initial reaction was to flip through the pages and hope whoever set the gym up made the first hint easy. I thumbed the pages until the very end, where a small message was scrawled on the inside of the back cover.

_Welcome to Nacrene Museum, challenger. Congratulations on finding this clue. Let's play a game. There are five more books like this one in this library. Each book has a riddle to find the next one. Can you solve all the riddles and discover the secret of this special place?_

_Here is your first clue. Let's start with something easy. Burned pokémon experience an overall decrease in their attack power. True or False?_

Was this really a thing? The diction on the opening greeting was a little off, even. Did they expect little kids to challenge this gym often? This was ridiculous.

Forcing myself to continue, I put the book back and walked to my right. The answer had to be true, I knew as much. Status conditions and their detriments seemed pretty logical on paper. Above, glued to the shelf hung a sign reading _T_. Below it, books beginning with T greeted me. True/false could be written T/F, right? They even capitalized the second word in the hint.

_Tricks Beget Traitors_ faced out at the top of the ladder. Without really trying, I took it in my hands and flipped through it like with the other book. Apparently some melodrama about a pair of friends gone to ruin after it turned out one hated the other all along. Yeesh. A card taped to the middle page of the musty text wasn't too hard to notice.

_Good work solving the first riddle. Now for the next one. Do you like sports? Then what is the name of pokémon move that is also a football move?_

There was going to be four more of these after this one? I couldn't tell if I was relieved or insulted. I knew the answer to this one as well, but what was the catch of this being kind of easy?

I found that out quite soon. The answer had to be tackle. Any other football maneuver, I hadn't a clue the name of. So many pokémon could learn that move. Pepper knew it. So, I went to shelf T. Except, that was where I got the hint from.

There was another book of the twenty-six displayed that had a title that had something to do with tackle? How long would that take me to find?

"What do you think, El?" Sylviana snatched the book from my hands and read over the question. Her face instantly soured. The book then found itself back in my hands.

"Has to be something with tackle…" I had to check every book on display to figure it out, huh? More effort than it's worth.

"And? Wanna give up and just guess?"

No, I actually felt like I could manage. So, as quietly as I could, I walked around to the back of shelf T, where X, Y, and Z crammed into one section. A grunt straightened out my train of thought. I almost forgot Pawn was with me since he stayed so quiet the whole morning. He poked my bag and made a shaking motion with his other arm.

"Want something?" I opened the largest compartment and reached for a stick of gum. Cutting me off, Pawn yanked my notebook out and made a scribbling gesture. "Oh. Good idea."

I ripped an empty page out and wrote down the titles of the books I had seen so far. After finishing, I inched to the end of the shelf and stared at the people. The line divided the whole library in half, straight down the two rows of bookshelves. The ones in front of me formed a small cluster, happily chatting away about some character from the book they each held. Their little group blocked me off from going to the other row.

So, instead of saying _excuse me_ and passing through them, I turned tail and went to the shelf one back from the one I stood at. Confrontation of any sort was best avoided, even when non-hostile.

The O and P shelf stared at me. _Ordinary Lifetimes_ and _Peculiar, I Swear_ went down on my paper. Who wrote these books? As if I didn't have enough reason to not read for leisure.

"What are you doing now?" _Coalescence_ came into view as Sylviana asked this. I may or may not have spelled it correctly. "This is going to take forever."

"I know." Oh, did I.

"Hurry up, please?" If only I could. I didn't get why Sylviana stuck around if she knew it was going to be this boring. And if she wasn't going to help me.

"I'm trying." A clean path to the other column of shelves showed itself at the back of the library. Seizing the opportunity, I scuttled over to Section B. There was no indication of whether or not what I was doing was the most efficient way. However, there was no way I was going to walk back and forth because my memory failed me.

"I guessed it right faster than what you're doing now, you know." What words of encouragement. I would have guessed, if only my luck wasn't so bad. "Don't pretend to know it if you don't, El."

I got what she was trying to say, but it had only been ten minutes since I started this book hunt. And if she were truly bursting at the seams to get to the end, she could have told me the answer. I wouldn't object, really. "Uh… Got it…"

_Broken Fishing Tackles Called Mine_ faced out at me under B. It was the first picture book I saw. Because of its length, I actually skimmed through it. Some story about perseverance and acceptance of failure, through fishing of course.

"Are you sure? Are you sure you're sure?" Sylviana used my favorite line against me. I usually said that to her. And of course, the answer was a big _I don't know_.

I couldn't outright say that, though. How stupid would I look? This title did have _tackle_ in it, but it didn't mean the same one as the hint did. Was I supposed to take this book anyway? There was no real harm in checking. There also was no real harm in writing down all the other titles.

I got my answer soon enough. I turned the last page of the picture book and taped to the back was another notecard. _Nice job! Only three more to go! _Was that supposed to be encouraging or condescending?

_Do you feel the excitement in the air? Is your pulse racing? What is something we all gain as we grow older, human and pokémon alike? From trying new things to growing stronger, what makes us all the wiser?_

What the fuck was this supposed to mean? Either it was pretentious as hell, or the person writing it was a sappy dude, neither of which I cared for. "Come again?"

"Oh, my god, who wrote this?" Sylviana took the book from my hands again and scoffed. Looked like we were on the same wavelength on that.

Pawn pulled me towards the next letter section. He was awful quiet today. Whether it was because of what happened earlier or because Joel told him to have me figure gym puzzles out myself, I couldn't guess. Probably both.

"Where are you going now?"

Wasn't it obvious? Did I give off such an aura that made it seem that I didn't know what I was doing all the time? Yes, actually. "To write down all the other titles."

"Are you sure that's right?" A little overbearing, but okay. Some faith wouldn't hurt either.

"Better than nothing at all."

And so I went on, all the way down to the last shelf with my sheet full of ink. Whether it was legible or not was subjective. Once all 26 titles were in my hand, I ended up crumpling where I grasped it quite a bit. "What was the hint again?"

"Don't look at me." Sylviana tapped away on her Xtransceiver the entire time. I wouldn't have described this ordeal as riveting, though, so I couldn't blame her. But she could still help me a bit.

"No, no…" It dawned on me.

"What?"

"If I had flipped through every book, would I have already found the answer?" How could that have slipped my mind?

"I thought you would have called that cheating, El." She spat _cheating_. Oh, did I know why… Either way, I honestly didn't care about this book search anymore. Had it been a game, I would definitely have tried my best not to brute force it. But, it wasn't, and we'd already wasted like half an hour just writing names down.

"Well…"

"You're really smart, though. You can figure it out, right?" Her voice became sharp. Before memories of our previous school year flashed before me, I stared at my paper.

"I'll try…" From the previous hint, I recalled the last book had to do something with fishing. I scanned my list and tried to recall the title, but Sylviana staring straight at me made it much more difficult than it had to be.

I read it down once, then up once. Then again. And again. My handwriting became so bad that even I could barely decipher it. I didn't really care that much, honestly.

"There's no way I'm doing this again." The conversation of a nearby group of people drowned my words out. "Oh, this one."

_Broken Fishing Tackles Called Mine_ came back to mind. I wrote _Fishing_ so narrowly that it looked like I scratched something out. Way to go. "To B?" The section sat on the other side of the library.

I waddled over there, talking the route between the bookshelves and the wall to avoid the ever-growing line of people waiting to get their books signed. "Something we get that makes us wiser?"

Looking at my list, anything could have been the correct answer in some way. Well, anything but the ones under S, T, and B if books didn't repeat. Such an ambiguous question. I decided to assume really specific titles could go out the window. That left me with like ten strange or pretentious choices.

Next, I left out titles I guessed felt less correct. What that really meant, I wasn't sure. Hooray for guessing. Either way, this narrowed it down to three choices: _Memories in the Devil's Hands_, _Partners Linking Happiness_, and _Heart-Pounding Experiences_.

Every moment birthed memories. Meeting other people was an inevitability. And experience just seemed like an answer that couldn't be wrong.

Pawn covered his mouth and coughed. Maybe the dust got to him. I poked my head around the shelf we stood at to find the closest of the three books. I spotted the M section immediately.

"This is taking forever, El. Just guess it." Sylviana had no patience. That I knew to be true.

Before I took a step, Pawn coughed again. Once he settled down, he punched his chest a couple times. "Heart pounding." I couldn't help making that pun. Was that even a pun? It was to me. That book sure had a vague yet strong title.

Pawn waved me off and pushed me out of the aisle we stood in. Yet again, he proved himself to be my keeper than my guide.

"Heart Pounding?" Actually, the H section was closer than the M one. It also felt a little familiar. To reassure myself on my doubts about the answers I juggled, I reread the whole hint.

The beginning part of the hint was what made the phrase I said twice feel a tad strange. _Is your pulse racing?_ it asked. Something about excitement. But that couldn't have been part of the actual description, right? It was just a salutation. Otherwise, _Heart-Pounding Experiences _was the answer.

I didn't really have any reason not to try my guess. I went over at a pace slower than Pepper and plucked _Heart-Pounding Experiences_ from the top of the ladder.

"You know, I asked if you wanted a hand, El." Sylviana came up from behind and almost startled me. Almost. "Just say you need me or whatever."

I barely heard her say that. As much as I tried not to, I very much zoned out and ignored Sylviana and Pawn in my book hunt. The faster I figured things out now, the more time we would have to talk to each other later, right?

Not answering Sylviana, I opened this book, and slapped over the title page was another card. _Experience helps us all grow, wouldn't you agree? Aim to make them as sparkling and exciting as you can. Just two more to go! Keep on moving. Next, go to the book under C and finish it!_

Finish what? All I could do was put the book back and make my way to Section C. When I got there, I saw that I lost Sylviana. On the other hand, Pawn stuck close, but looked indifferent, which was unusual for him. He at least held a polite smile most of the time.

"Not the most exciting thing in the world." Pawn pulled out a fancy pocketwatch from his fannypack. How much did Joel spend on that? Unable to continue the conversation, I read the last hint again, which I wrote down at the corner of my paper just a minute ago. Finish it how? The only thing to come to mind was to read it.

It wasn't like it was a large novel. It only had about fifty pages, and the font looked larger than others I'd seen before in addition to the large illustrations inserted between sections. No card or hint resided within it, I found out after flipping through it.

_Chains Just as Strong_ stared at me. On the cover, a boy followed by many pokémon, all connected with a chain, walked in a single file. The third pokémon behind the trainer lagged behind, causing all others after him to do the same. Had to have been some metaphor or something. I cracked the book open and started on the first page. A ways away, the line of people inched forward. I made sure to stay out of their field of vision. The first few pages went by pretty quickly.

Every five pages started a new section about the protagonist either catching a new pokémon or battling someone important. Predictability became inevitable, but at least it wasn't completely boring. I had yet to yawn. I read up to about the halfway point and checked the time. "I wasted half an hour already?"

Why the hell were gym challengers expected to read a whole book? This was so stupid. Pawn looked at the book in my hands funny, but when I made a gesture for him to say something, he shrugged. If he knew the answer that I didn't, well wouldn't I have egg on my face? He kept holding his face like he was embarrassed at me.

"Next chapter…" I turned the page and kept reading. There wasn't even an empty chair or something nearby. All the people waiting in line snatched them like assholes. So I was the idiot just standing around, reading a whole book in the middle of the library. At least no one else was in the same aisle as me.

The next few chapters followed the same pattern as the last ones, up until the one a few pages from the end. There, the protagonist had a battle with his rival and lost after sending his starter out, who threw off the team's rhythm and confidence by getting knocked out in one small blow due to his laziness and complacency after evolving or something, unlike his teammates. I don't know. I skimmed the ending because I really didn't feel like having a moral lesson right there.

"Chain's just as strong as its weakest link, then?" I closed the book after checking the last page. "I finished it. Now what?"

Pawn groaned. He put his hands together as if to sign _so close_. So he did know?

"Uh…" I stood there like an idiot, stewing in thoughts as to what the answer could be for about ten minutes. I checked my title list many, many times and couldn't figure it out. No one was going to help me, Pawn seemed to not want to give me the answer he had to have known, and I ran out of patience a long time ago.

"Screw it. Let's brute force it." I shuffled over to the adjacent Section D and flipped through that book. "Empty." Pawn tried to stop me, but there was no way I was getting this riddle.

"I admit defeat." Without an ounce of honor, I went to the next book and skimmed it as well. "I wasted an hour reading that book and got zilch. I'm not wasting any more time. And where the hell is Sylviana?" As I checked every book, Pawn had his arms up the entire time as if to get me to stop. Sorry, but I didn't care enough. And, no one was looking, really.

Section J was a gold mine. On the first page of _Jonesing for Opelucid_'s fourth chapter "Battle Tendency" was a notecard reading _Congratulations! Always try going to new places. You never know until you go there. You have solved the last riddle. Now pull the white book on this shelf out and descend the stairs for your prize._

"Uh-oh… This is the last answer…" I just wanted the answer to the riddle I was on, not the last one! Now I felt bad. There was no real point in finding the other book. Except for pride!

So, I shelved the book I held and went to check the next one. Only when I found what I wanted would I follow through on the last note's instruction. I went all the way down to W, where _Weakest Links_ lay in wait.

"Are you serious?" It just hit me. I said that phrase after I finished reading _Chains Just as Strong_. So finishing that book meant completing the phrase? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link? I called bullshit, despite the fact that it was kind of clever.

Instead of mulling it over and doing nothing, I mulled it over and flipped to the last riddle thing. _Nice job! Are you ready for the last one? Then go to Opelucid and have a battle_.

That made sense why _Jonesing For Opelucid_ had its note placed in such a specific place. As opposed to actually going to Opelucid City and battling someone. I walked back to that book and looked for the white book it told me to find. I saw it sticking out of the shelf already. To the left of the shelf was a staircase that had been open the entire time I was at the gym, that I thought was just leading to another floor of the library. Oops, my bad.

But, if the book was pulled and stairs were open, was someone already challenging the leader? I decided to step back and wait for a while before going down the stairs to check things out. As I did that, Sylviana popped out from behind me and pushed me playfully. "What now?"

"Where were you?" I guessed I didn't say it loud enough because Sylviana didn't answer me. Louder, I said "Go down the stairs. But there's probably someone there."

"So?" She pinched my sleeve and dragged me to the stairs. As much as I wanted to argue, I saw someone on the line look in our direction.

Biting my lip, I followed Sylviana. It took a good minute for us to reach the bottom of the stairs. We found ourselves in what looked like a study room. There, a woman and a man stood huddled around a clipboard.

"Can we help you?" The woman noticed us first.

Sylviana nudged my back a little harshly and hummed. Here we went again. "Hello..."

Before I could continue, the man walked up. "Oh, dear, I thought I closed the stairs and put a sign up after I came down. I apologize, but we're having a meeting right now."

"Don't worry about it." The woman clapped the man on the back and came up to us. "How can I help you two?"

"I…" I should have spoken up because the lady kept talking.

"You must have solved the book riddles upstairs, right? Or were you just curious about what was down here?"

"The former," I said.

"Then congratulations! Here you two are." She passed us and approached a bowl full of pins and candy. She took two of each and gave one set to each of us. "I hope you had fun. I'm sorry I couldn't make this reveal as spectacular as I usually do. We're a little busy today. If you haven't yet, go to the book signing upstairs."

The woman put a hand on both of our backs and ushered us to the exit. Pawn made a pushing motion as well, prompting me to shut up, cease brain functionality, and leave. "Thank you…"

"Have a great day, you two! Enjoy the library and museum!" At least she seemed genuine, whatever that meant.

"Dear, the museum from Pewter City got back to us about the fossil upsurge in Desert Resort," the man said once the woman removed her hands from us. I couldn't hear the rest over the sound of my footsteps up the stairs.

Once we were back in the library, I stared at the pin and hard candy in my hand. The way the woman talked, it was as if the whole point of the book puzzles was getting this weird pin that looked vaguely like a gym badge. Rectangle in shape with yellow borders and purple on the inside, but made of cheap plastic.

"You really figured out all the riddles, El? I don't believe you."

I didn't want to admit I kind of cheated at the end. All I did was shove the two prizes I got into my bag. "Wasn't there supposed to be a gym battle?"

"I really don't know. I had a battle there and won. Her watchog was mean. I have no idea what happened, really."

"Pawn?" Maybe Joel battled this gym. The gallade put the tip of his arm to his face in thought. Unsure of whether or not we were even in the right place, I opened a web browser on my Xtransceiver and searched for the Nacrene City gym.

The first result was the homepage of the museum. After clicking on a few things, I landed on a page with a picture of the woman we saw earlier on it. "Lenora, director of Nacrene Museum? _Former_ gym leader?"

"Really?" Sylviana grabbed my arm to read what I just did. "Oh, I guess the normal-type gym is in Aspertia City now."

Sylviana dropped my arm, Xtransceiver now on a page with a list of Unovan gyms. "That's great. Not like I wasted a bunch of time here." I went back to the museum page and dug a little deeper. The answer I wanted wasn't too hard to find. "Of course. This riddle hunt is an attraction for little kids."

"Sucks to be you."

"Thanks, I know…"

There was nothing else to do. I turned to my right to leave, but ended up almost knocking down a rack full of copies of a single book. "Huh?" Upon closer inspection, the author was that Shauntal lady doing the signing. "What the hell." With nothing left to lose, I took a copy from the rack and read the back cover.

"You're seriously gonna read right now, El?" Sylviana knocked the hard-cover book in my hands. "You do whatever you want. I'm gonna find Ricky."

Ah, I almost forgot about Maverick. We rarely conversed. Sylviana left me behind when I looked back up. "Why not?"

Past its flowery and poetic diction, what I got from the blurb was that the book was about a a trainer with a bad attitude and an annoyingly clingy yamask. One day, he died in an accident and awoke to find himself looking at himself, in the body of his yamask. Then, he tried to save his human self, only to find issue in his own bad personality that he kept trying to change.

Interesting enough, I guessed. It actually sounded pretty cool. It was the reviews below the summary that got me.

_Shauntal's first step into the world of raw fiction is just as eloquent and heart-wrenching as her other works based on trainers she's battled before. This book tugs at the heartstrings with its tragic dramatic irony, and makes you reconsider what it means to be your pokemon's partner_.

Yeah, yeah, power of friendship, whatever.

Other short reviews of similar sentiment followed that one, all sounding just as pretentious. Even so, the tale still intrigued me. I looked around and saw a table with a cash register near Shauntel. Deciding to achieve something today, I ended up buying the book and joining the book-signing line. I didn't even like reading, but doing this was better than nothing at all.

Pawn hummed at me and tilted his head. "Yeah, we're doing this." He stood beside me, waiting for the line to move forward one person at a time. I read through the prologue in the time it took for the line to cut in half. It was pretty good to be honest. Better than books I had to read for school.

Didn't help the fact that I wasted so much time on this wild book chase.

* * *

Song recommendation: "Tokimeki Experience" by Poppin'Party. That one book's title and its riddle card were kind of based off this.


	6. Price of My Nonexistent Pride

Maverick and Sylviana leaned against a shelf to my right. When they got there, I didn't know. Why? Even more of a mystery. I tried to ignore the fact that they were probably waiting on me to leave.

Good thing waiting was my forte. I couldn't say as much for Pawn, Sylviana, or Maverick. Eventually, it was my turn to approach Shantal. A lot of people were behind me, so I hoped to make my turn as quick and painless as it could be.

"Next please." The woman laced her fingers together and smiled. I walked up to her and handed her my copy of the book with both hands. "Hello, hello."

"Hello." I twisted my hands and looked off to the side as she cracked the book open to the front.

"So who should I make this out to?"

Oh, she was going to personalize it? Well, I wasn't really going to sell it. "Eloise Damon." Hopefully I didn't need to spell it.

"Damon?"

"Yeah?" I watched as she first printed my name in nice script, then a fancy yet legible autograph. She then looked up at me and smiled.

"Pawn, right?" Shauntal pointed at the gallade and stood up with her other hand out. Pawn shook it and nodded. "I knew you were familiar!" Her hand moved to point at his choker with the divot in it. My brother's gallade cried out with a light tone.

"Is that right?" How did they know each other?

"Are you related to Joel Damon?"

Where was this coming from? Hesitating, I said, "He's my brother."

"We battled just last week. What a thrilling and meticulous battle it was!" Shauntal offered her hand to me next, which I reluctantly shook. Did sharing blood really warrant this? The whole line of people behind me was probably watching. How many eyes were on me, then?

"I'm happy for you." What else was I supposed to say to an Elite Four member? "Uh, so what was the resu-"

"Who won?" Maverick stormed up to us and pushed me to the side again. "Did Joel lose?"

"I'm sorry? Haha, I…" Wow, he even put Shauntal at a loss for words. "I apologize, but it was a private battle. I don't think I should divulge such personal information."

"Damn." Maverick didn't bother holding his tongue. Did he have any manners?

"You do that," I barely said above a whisper, rubbing the area he practically punched. Pawn came up to me, holding the book Shauntal signed while glaring at Maverick. "Did you win?"

Pawn kind of chuckled and waved me off, then hung his head. Guess he lost. I thought it best to never tell Maverick that.

"Then I challenge you to a rematch, Shauntal." Maverick sure knew how to be a charmer.

"Ahaha…" I felt really bad for the poor woman. "Well, I would be glad to. However, this book signing goes on for a little longer, and there's still a line waiting patiently. Let me finish this event before we go… Maverick, yes?"

He did say rematch, so they battled before? Presumably Maverick lost. I reveled in that thought.

**~X~**

Across the street from the museum, a bunch of people gathered around Shauntal and Maverick prepping for their battle. I was there too. What could I say? I wanted Maverick to lose.

"Okay, Maverick. How about a three-on-three single battle?" Shauntal pulled out a notebook and pen from her bag and jotted something down.

"Fine with me." He immediately sent out his bisharp without waiting to see who Shauntal picked. She was the ghost-type Elite Four member, right? So Maverick's choice stood to reason.

"A bisharp, huh? You seem to know Joel. His bisharp fared quite well against us. How about yours?" Shauntal tucked her pen behind her ear and tossed a poké ball. Out came a blue giant golem-mecha with a bandage across its chest. "Excelsior, let us begin."

What a name. A golurk, apparently. Both bipedal pokémon assumed positions opposite each other and waited for a command. As I squinted to get a better look at Excelsior, some tall couple took the empty spot in front of me, blocking my view entirely. _Thanks_, I spat in my head.

"Edge, night slash."

To get another view of the battle, I circled over to behind a shorter person. But, another guy took the spot just as I got there, causing us both to jump when we almost collided. "Sorry," I mumbled before walking away from him to avoid further awkwardness.

"Hammer arm, Excelsior. Then another!"

Still unable to see the battle, I tried finding another spot. I didn't think there would be this many people around to catch the battle, but the book signing did have dozens ready to follow their beloved author around.

"Come off it." I hid my words in a sigh. I wound up standing in front of the museum due to how dense the crowd was, and how I couldn't get a good spot. And as I said, the museum was across the street from the battle.

"Jump back and use swords dance!" I gave up and decided to watch from above the crowd. I looked up in time to see Edge leaping through the air back to where Maverick stood.

"Beautiful. This is stunning. Love it." Pawn patted my shoulder and kind of pointed to the west exit of Nacrene City. "Why no-"

I got cut off by a loud slamming noise. From the battle, I saw Excelsior's upper body above the heads of the crowd and heard the sound of someone being returned to their poké ball.

"We haven't lost yet." Maverick sent someone else out, who I could also not see from my position. Boy, did he shout loudly. I heard him perfectly clear from where I stood.

I looked around for Sylviana, but couldn't find a trace of her. Having lost all motivation to do anything today, I poked Pawn and pointed at the poké center.

**~X~**

The next morning, I woke up at Pawn's behest. I supposed I didn't have a right to be lazy and complacent with my achievements so far. In a daze, I managed to let Pawn push me all the way to Pinwheel Forest before I stopped yawning.

"Go ahead on your own," Sylviana had told me last night. Apparently she had an obligation or something. It took forever for her to tell me that, though, due to her laughing fit over Maverick's one-sided defeat by the hands of Shauntal earlier that day.

"Feels horrible." The forest, in one word, was humid. So grody and sticky that I couldn't wait to get out. Noticing no one was around, I blew a large bubble with the gum I chewed.

Pawn huffed and kept pushing me. I really needed to figure out a way to motivate myself so he wouldn't end up doing this inevitably.

A strange rustling and squishy crunching rang through the air. "What's that noise?" I slowed down and tried listening more closely. Pawn pulled me back after exclaiming rather loudly, causing me to nearly have a heart attack.

"What?" I looked to where I was going to step. On the paved road was a green blob, barely visible in the forest's darkness. "What is that?"

It moved. Soon, the blob unfurled to reveal a yellow bug coated in green gnawing on some leaves. It made some squeaky, squishy chirping.

"Is it eating or not?" Yes, that was my first leaf it chewed didn't seem to be growing smaller.

It stopped chewing and looked up at us. Without thinking, I blew another gum bubble, prompting the bug to cry out. I scanned the little thing, a sewaddle. When I closed his dex entry, he had yet to move an inch. "Go around him?"

Pawn walked past Sewaddle and motioned for me to follow. Not like he was blocking the whole road, though. I tried, but the bug moved just to block me from progressing (unless I was willing to step on him).

"What?" I stepped right and Sewaddle copied me like a mirror. "Can you stop that?"

He grunted and lunged at me.

"Oh, good grief." I stumbled to the left in time to dodge. "Uh, uh, Pepper."

I managed to send Pepper out without issue. The bug jumped at us again. With a cry, she shot out ember on her own, which Sewaddle dodged.

"What is happening?" I didn't actually step on him, did I? "Ember again."

This one hit him good. He cried out and fell down. Just when I thought that he stopped moving and that we messed up, I saw Sewaddle wiggle and gnaw on the leaf behind his head again. "Uh…" Pepper oinked with the same tone. "We should just leave."

As he distracted himself chewing, Pepper and I walked ahead to meet back up with Pawn. But, just as we did, I heard Pepper groan. Looking back, some white string shot out and wrapped around her tail from Sewaddle's mouth.

"What now?" I stared at Pawn. All he did was shrug. "Ember, yet again."

Could the result have been anything else? Sewaddle became a little more crispy as he didn't even try to avoid the move. Pawn tugged on my arm and made a throwing motion.

"Catch him? Why?" There was no need. He engaged us first, anyway. Plus, he coated Pepper's tail with string shot. We both had reason to not really want him. Kinda like Munna, but a little less… worse? Man, even after all this time I still disliked Munna. Wonder what Joel's doing with him.

Sewaddle jumped back up only to fall down again. I had a feeling he faked faltering since he didn't bother closing his eyes in doing so.

"Uh, Pepper?" I honestly didn't care. My tepig tilted her head and blinked. "Indifference?"

Since he engaged us and seemed to want me to catch him, this bug had to have had an ulterior motive. But what? I had nothing he could want.

"I hope I don't regret this." I practically flipped a coin in my head before pulling out an empty poké ball. When I looked at his evolutions' _Stat Star _dex entries earlier, he did seem viable, so that was one perk. Kind of.

I chucked the ball ahead. Before it hit Sewaddle, the bug jumped into it and went in without issue. "Right…"

I plucked the ball up and shook it. Sewaddle sent himself out, causing me to drop the capsule and gasp. He immediately bounded towards me and shook one of his little feet up at my face.

"What?" Was he mocking me? I just caught him, thought. Pawn kind of laughed and came up to me. He rooted through my bag and pulled out a pack of the gum I currently chewed. "What about it?"

I watched as the gallade opened the pack and waved it at me. How surreal. I took a stick out and looked down once I heard a strange panting. Sewaddle wriggled in place and looked longingly at the gum in my hand. "Oh my god. This isn't real." Pepper huffed and looked away. I guessed she didn't care for gum after the blue raspberry incident.

Pawn laughed again and pushed down on my shoulders as if to get me to squat down. I complied. "No way. You want this?" I waved the gum in front of Sewaddle. He cheered and nipped at it. Did he even know what gum was? I unwrapped it and dropped the stick from a foot above him. He opened his mouth and let it fall inside, after which he chewed like a demon. I was never that excited chewing gum.

"Glad you like it…" I pinched myself. "No, no, wait. Don't swallow it, don't swallow it!" I shook my hands like crazy and wondered what would happen if he did. Pawn patted my arm and pulled me back up.

"You love it." I would admit, he did look kind of cute. His fangs were a little much, but he seemed so preoccupied chewing gum, of all things, that I didn't really worry too much. Pepper nudged him and observed the bug she just lightly roasted.

"Let's just call you Gummy, alright?" Easy to remember and representative of his likes. I hoped I wouldn't regret it later. He hummed and continued chewing "I'll take that as a green light." I pinched myself again before throwing another stick of gum in my own mouth.

Were things supposed to be like this?

**~X~**

"This sucks." We walked down Skyarrow Bridge again. I kept Pepper and Gummy out after we exited the forest. Gummy, once we started mobilizing, jumped on Pepper and used her as a vehicle. The tepig didn't really mind, but I couldn't help but stare incredulously at the bug happily chewing gum atop Pepper's back. Rose walked a little behind us, still trying to carry her log with Tempest perched on one end of it.

"Are you getting any stronger, Rose?" The sound of wood tapping on the bridge said it all. "Should you join a gym or something? You've been trying for a while without any progress." If anything, she seemed to be losing stamina by the day. I heard a huff, then a grunt of effort. "You're gonna pull something." Tempest whacked the back of Rose's head with her wing as if to get her to be more quiet. I gave up on trying to figure out her deal.

"We're almost there." I saw the entrance to Castelia straight ahead and kept my eyes glued to the ground until we finished descending the flight of stairs before the gate. Then I looked around and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Sylviana a short distance away.

"Why is she here?" I walked toward her, noting that she stood next to Maverick and in front of some guy at a table. On the table were several fancy cushions, each with a poké ball on top of it and a gilded plaque before it. The plaques each had the name of a pokémon species engraved on it. Were those nameplates gold? They looked it.

"Oh, hey, El." Sylviana waved me down.

"What are you doing here?" Could the scene before me be any more suspicious?

"Did you just get here? Wow, you should have called us. We took a car here. Sorry." What? What happened to what she said yesterday? I must have misheard, then. And wasted my goddamn time and energy crossing Skyarrow Bridge!

"Gather round. The more the merrier!" the guy behind the table called out. At his side, a weavile beckoned other people forward. This kept up for a few minutes. As time passed, more and more people came. It seemed like they were at the bridge just to see what this guy had to say rather than cross to Nacrene City from Castelia or vice versa.

"Perfect." The guy behind the table checked the super-expensive-looking watch on his wrist. "Alright, ladies and gents, thank you for coming. My name is Shawn, and I am pleased to welcome you to my latest pokémon auction!"

Auction? _Pokémon _auction? Did that mean what it sounded like? Was this real? As the people squeezed closer around the Shawn guy, I returned everyone except Pawn to not lose them.

"I have six wonderful pokémon today to present to you all. I hope you like them." He clapped and scanned the crowd. When he glanced our way, I felt my stomach drop. I forced myself to look up, only to see him staring intently at Pawn, I assumed. My brother's gallade grunted the same way I said _I don't like this_.

"Bullshit," I heard Maverick say.

"Let's get the show underway. Everyone, feast your eyes on Aggron!" My heart paused as a huge hunk of sentient metal came out of the poké ball he threw and stomped the ground. Shawn walked up to Aggron and pet his head, causing the thing to snuggle into the touch, however that worked. "Weavile, get over here."

Shawn's weavile ran and took the spot opposite Aggron. They were going to battle now? Nothing could convince me that this wasn't fishy.

"Let's show off what Aggron is capable of!" The crowd went nuts.

"Is this even moral? No, legal?" I asked no one. It had be this: he was selling pokémon.

"Stupid phony," I caught Maverick saying.

"Be quiet." Sylviana hit his arm. Yeah, I couldn't believe this was real either.

Shawn stood behind Aggron. Did that beast even know what was going to happen to him if my guess was correct? "Stone edge." Aggron glowed white with power for a second before two rings of jagged rocks surrounded him. He sent them flying at Weavile. Without needing his trainer to tell him, the smaller pokémon dodged on his own.

"Weavile, brick break. Aggron, you too." The two lunged at each other and clashed their hands together in a stalemate. "Aggron, iron head."

Aggron's head glowed as he brought it down to smash against his opponent. Again, the smaller one dodged. "Night slash."

Weavile charged forward with claws surrounded by dark energy. When he came close enough, Shawn called out, "Superpower." Aggron crushed his hands together in time to clap Weavile between them. Once he let go, Weavile fell down and struggled to stand. "Now brutal swing."

Aggron flailed about with a purple aura and smacked Weavile back. No hesitation at all. How savage. Once he landed, Weavile held an arm in the air and didn't stand up.

"Let's hear it for Aggron, everybody!" Shawn held his pokemon's arm up in the air like he won a wrestling match. The crowd ate it up and cheered like animals.

"What about Weavile?" I watched the little guy skitter to the table Shawn sat at earlier. There he took a small backpack and opened it, pulling out a blue spray bottle and applying it on his wounds. He then ran back opposite Aggron.

"We all saw what Aggron can do. So let's start the bidding." Shawn returned his pokémon and waved the ball in the air.

I was right. And I think I didn't like being right for the second time in my life.

"The starting price for Aggron will be a simple, low 1,000,000 poké. Any takers?" Of the crowd of about thirty people, maybe five raised their hands. I couldn't make out the garbled garbage they spewed while they clamoured for poor Aggron as my brain shut down. "I saw the good man in the white hat first. Next bid?"

How absurd. Who had such money to burn when they could just train someone themselves? And who knew if the pokémon they bought would listen to them. I couldn't believe this.

What was even the point of buying a pokémon like this? Glory? Power? I thought people took pride in effort and caring for their own partners. Was I wrong?

What of the pokémon being sold? Would they even be happy about changing trainers at the literal flip of a coin? Would they rampage upon finding out their "trainer" Shawn was a liar and hurt their new "trainer"? Would they miss Shawn? Would they just surrender and submit to their new "trainer"? Would they even realize what they really were to Shawn? I couldn't fathom the thought.

And I thought I didn't care about pokémon.

"1,500,000 poké!"

"1,600,000 poké!"

"2,000,000 poké!"

**~X~**

"20,000,000 poké!" someone called out for the sixth pokémon (plural) in Shawn's little showcase: a collection of 20 butterflies, each with a different wing pattern. They flew in sync in a strange dance.

"Any other offers? These guys were hard to get ahold of. I probably won't ever train a kaleidoscope of vivillon ever again." Shawn looked around. The bids had crept up by small increments for the past ten minutes before that person declared 20,000,000, jumping from just 10,000,000. "Fine, then. Sold to the nice lady in yellow. That concludes my auction today. Thank you all for coming. Would the six winners please come up to finish the transaction?"

Applause erupted from the crowd before they dispersed. Shawn returned the vivillon two by two. I stood dumbstruck as six bourgeois-ass people lined up in front of him. "What just happened?"

Pawn tugged on my arm and pulled me toward Castelia City while breathing a lifeless tone. I kept my head down as we passed by Shawn's table. However, my worst fear came true as he said, "You with the gallade. Could you stay behind for a chat?"

I stopped walking from the sheer shock I got. Weavile sauntered up to us and held his arms out as if to block our path, pointing us to his trainer. "I don't…" I didn't finish my sentence.

Not too long after, Shawn, Sylviana, Maverick, and I were the only humans on this side of the bridge. Shawn tucked what I believed was a credit card scanner and a couple of checks into his bag before approaching me.

"Hello. Name's Shawn."

I held my breath before reluctantly saying, "Eloise."

"Did you like what you saw?"

My words came out without thinking. "Not really."

"You have any pokémon you really, really want?"

"No…"

Shawn's face dropped like his attitude shifted completely. "I can guess how this is gonna go. I saw you scowling through my entire show. I'm gonna cut straight to the chase, Eloise."

"Huh?" Why was this happening? And I wasn't really scowling. I just wasn't smiling.

"How much do you want for me to take this gallade off of your hands?"

My heart pounded as I actually felt my face flush. "What?"

"How much for your gallade?"

The audacity. The arrogance. The entitlement and money. I couldn't believe this guy. But there he was in front of me, spewing such garbage. Sell Pawn? Even if he wasn't Joel's, why would I? Did he just see pokémon as products? Even I was better than that, and I felt indifferent on the whole.

What about how affectionate all his pokemon were to him, like Aggron? Apparently, I ended up actually voicing my thoughts. "Are pokémon just money to you?"

Not batting an eye, he said, "Yeah. What else would they be?"

I stared down at Weavile, who stood by Shawn like a squire. "Never mind." Words eluded me. It wasn't like I was in the position to lecture him about anything. As much as I liked Pepper and Pawn, I couldn't easily say that I really loved them or anything. My pokémon felt more like an obligation, if I had to be honest, and nothing more.

"What? You gonna preach to me about friendship or some shit like that?"

I couldn't bring myself to answer. This just became a huge mess, one I wished I avoided.

"I'll say it one more time. How much for him?"

He wasn't going to stop, was he? I would have taken Maverick bumping me to the side every time Joel came up over this. Taking my time coming up with an answer, I finally said, "Why do you want him?"

Shawn looked at me as if I was the stupidest person on Earth. "I can tell just by looking that this guy is strong. In my hands, I can capitalize on that. I know you won't be able to do that." Was _sneer_ the correct word to describe how he said that? "I'll even be generous since you don't understand."

"I understand, alright." I just wanted him to go away.

"I'll give you a down payment of 500,000 poké. Then, when I sell him to a guy I know who will love your gallade, I'll even give you ten percent of the profit on top of it. How's that sound?"

That made it sound even worse, to be honest. People really threw money around that way? Not just in cartoons and stuff like that? Plus, each of the pokémon he sold today went for millions of poké, though I guessed that wasn't the real issue here.

With a yelp, Pawn smacked the hand Shawn reached out to touch him with. Without thinking, I returned him and shoved his poké ball deep into my bag.

"Made your choice?" Shawn pulled out a huge wallet from his bag and cracked it open.

"I'm sorry…" I wasn't really. "I can't sell Pawn. He's… my brother's." Since the friendship speech would just be stomped over by Shawn, I couldn't say anything of that sentiment as an excuse, even if it was a lie.

"Oh." Shawn didn't seem too concerned about that. "So? You'll be doing the both of you a favor." Of giving up one of the more integral parts of my brother's team (not that any other of his teammates could be discounted)?

Couldn't he give up? "No, thank you."

"Heh." Shawn walked up to me and shoved his face before mine. "Yeah, y'know what? Forget it. He's not worth it."

"That's not very nice." I stopped caring about offending this ass that wanted to buy Pawn, who I probably would never see again in the future. Though that didn't help me speak any more loudly or assertively. "Bye, then." I dragged my words out.

"Damn, thought that would work. Whatever. Just know, Eloise, that I get what I want. I always do." Was he a real person? Did he not understand the world didn't revolve around him? "I've got another auction in Nimbasa to get to. Next time I see you, though, you can bet your ass you'll be handing him over to me."

"What?" Didn't he just say he didn't care about Pawn anymore? Was that shitty reverse psychology? "No, no thank you."

"Oh, aren't you something else." Shawn sure knew how to paint himself like a villain. "Let me tell you this since you seem to think you're more righteous than me."

"I didn't say-"

"No, I can see it on your face. You think I'm disgusting, don't you?" Shawn said it, not me. What was his damage? He dominated this conversation and skewed it as if he were the victim.

"Please leave me alone…"

"Everyone has a price. Everyone. Don't think I don't know that you do as well. Money is everything." So he saw everyone as a walking piggybank or something? He practically foamed at the mouth saying this. "And shit trainers like you ought to be thankful people like me are around. Just wait and see. Next time we meet, I know you'll be begging me to take your stupid gallade off your hands, and to sell you a pokémon to carry your ass for the rest of your journey." Why didn't he think Pawn could do that for me?

What could I say? I locked up and bit my lip, digging my overgrown nails into my palms. I heard Shawn and his weavile stomp off to Castelia. The next thing I knew, Pawn sent himself out, and Sylviana and Maverick walked up to me. "I…"

"Oh, my god, I need to talk to that guy," Sylviana said. Did she intend to teach him a lesson? Give him the scolding of a lifetime? She could go ahead and do that. As long as I didn't have to see that guy again. Better she do it than me."Who does he think he is?"

Sylviana ran after Shawn. I finally looked up once Pawn pulled on my elbow.

"Some cocky bastard," Maverick spat.

"Uh-huh." My voice wavered. Everything felt so surreal. Why did I end up in these messes?

"If you have any self respect, Lois, you won't pay that guy any mind. Bastards like him just think being a trainer is a joke. If he cared at all about pokémon, he wouldn't be selling them like candy." He really didn't know my name, huh?

"Come again?" I said just barely. I didn't really want to be lectured like this.

"I mean it. Or do you actually think that guy's okay?"

"I don't." My hesitation to speak made it seem as though I was lying. At least, that's how I thought it went. "He worries me." Understatement of the year.

"Good." Maverick slapped me on the back and turned to Pawn. Damn did he hit hard for a playful hit. "If I'm going to beat you"-He shoved a finger in the poor gallade's face-"Joel's going to be the one in command." Of course.

Maverick set off for Castelia, and eventually I followed with Pawn on my heels. I barely remembered what I did, but after I checked in the poké center, I went to my room and lazed about the rest of the day.

**~X~**

Come the next day, Pawn dragged me to the videophones once I woke up to a text from my brother. I put in the new address he gave me, which told me he was back home in Opelucid, and waited for him to pick up.

Again, Miles greeted me with strange breathing before Joel pushed him out of frame. Pawn stepped closer to me so Joel could see him, prompting Miles to come back to hold his dangerous arm up, presumably as a challenge issue. He came dangerously close to the camera, probably nearly breaking it. Miles surely didn't understand technology too well.

"And?" What a way to start this off.

Pawn covered for me, petting my shoulder while trying to rile my brother and his bisharp down with his free arm.

"Badges?" He couldn't have made this less painful?

"None." Somehow, guilt became one of many things I felt at that moment. Not just because of my lack of progress, but because of what happened yesterday as Pawn kept trying to be my advocate. "You make it sound like I can compose infinity or something."

"Then get on it. You're in Castelia, aren't you?" Joel was the battle prodigy, not me, though. "Did you catch anyone else?" He pinched the bridge of his nose.

With an overexcited cry, Pawn pulled my bag (nearly choking me, if I could add), and rooted through the front pocket until he pulled out Rose's and Gummy's poké balls with vigor.

"A timburr and sewaddle?" So he could read. I scribbled the species name in the corner of the stickers I placed on each ball along with my pokemon's name on it. "Gummy?"

"What?" Should I have felt ashamed?

"Just use your tepig and pidove and go. Just go." I thought he was going to hang up, but he didn't move. Joel pointed at Pawn and switched subjects on us. "Why are you so excited? You're way more vocal than you usually are." Pawn gave a weak laugh.

"What did you do? Should I revoke your Pawn privileges already?" Why was he talking to me like I was five now? Actually, Pawn did seem more like my babysitter than anything else, but still.

I wanted to stay silent. I didn't want to say what happened yesterday. For one thing, I didn't know how Joel would react. Also, I wanted to purge Shawn from my memory. The way that guy functioned… Would he follow through on what he said? What would he do to me if I didn't have Pawn if we saw each other again?

"Yesterday…" The word came out without thinking.

"Yesterday what?" I was locked into this now.

"There was a guy, a pokémon auctioneer."

"A what?" As if I made that up. "And?"

There was no way I was padding this out with comedy or something. After gulping, I said, "He wanted to buy Pawn."

"You better have said no!" It was Joel's turn to lean into the camera. I flinched as his voice reached a volume rivaling his archeops's squawking, which was to say quite loud. "If you said anything else-"

Pawn pulled me back and stood in front of the videophone while patting his chest as if to say _I'm still here._ He practically shouted out. Whether he meant it to protect me or himself, I didn't know. Only now did it seem evident that he was bothered by Shawn too. Made sense, though, after being ogled at like a toy.

A calm, deep, feminine voice rang out with a noise of concern. From the corner of Joel's screen popped out the head of a gardevoir. Oh, no, Bishop was there? Pawn's sister made it harder to not be honest. I actually liked her, too.

What a mess everything became. For some reason, Miles and Bishop overtook Joel on his screen and talked over each other to Pawn, who did his best to keep up with both. On my side, I tried to formulate a way to say what I needed to say with the least ambiguity and in the most succinct fashion. I failed at it, though.

"Enough, let me get the answers first." Joel returned his two pokémon. Pawn pushed me back in front of the phone.

"I…"

"You what?"

I breathed in and out once. Twice. "I said no, but he really wanted Pawn."

"And then?"

"I returned Pawn, then he left."

Joel sighed and wheezed for a good second. "Why did he want Pawn?"

Oh, how I didn't want to say. "To sell him…"

"The fuck?"

And just a few days ago, I bellyached about not having money. Come to think of it, Shawn's pokémon were seriously strong, even I could tell. The way he showed them off? Even more so. So why was he selling them instead of just battling a bunch of people? Was raising a bunch of new pokémon easier than battling a few high-stake battles? I didn't think so.

"What was his name? What did he look like?" Never had I heard my brother sound so serious. He really did care bunches about his pokémon.

"Shawn. He…" Now that I thought back on it, Shawn looked like a normal dude. The only things I really remembered about him was that he was loud, greedy, and intimidating. "He wasn't shy about calling himself a pokémon auctioneer. And he had a weavile with him."

"A weavile?" Joel had one too.

"His name was Weavile." Yeah, he didn't have a nickname.

"Goddamn." This whole conversation felt so rigid. I allowed silence to overtake us until he started talking again. "Whatever. That's not important anymore. Go behind you and send Pawn back to me."

"What?" It wasn't like I didn't expect him to ask for Pawn back. I just didn't expect him to ask for Pawn back _so soon_. He did say until I got a gym badge, didn't he?

"He's not yours. Transfer him back to me." Joel tilted his head to Pawn and tapped his watch, which was behind a bracelet I didn't know he had that matched the chokers on all his pokémon. The way he wore it was similar to the way I wore my Xtransceiver and wristwatch. So we did have things in common. Ever since he got serious about his journey way back when, Joel and I became even more distant. "We have something we need to do, too. I need you, Pawn."

Pawn froze in what I assumed was awe with a huge smile growing on his face. Did he miss being by Joel's side that badly? Without hesitation, he nodded and dug through my bag for his own poké ball. Once he took it out, the gallade froze again and patted my back.

"What do I do?" Good for Joel, he knew what he wanted. I didn't.

"Figure it out yourself." Joel motioned with his hand, prompting Pawn to slowly step behind me to the transporter machine. Not before squeezing my shoulders together and waving at me, though.

So much for helping me. But what else could I do? With Joel waiting for me to move, I forced myself to follow Pawn and return him. I nestled his poké ball in the transporter and put in the correct address. With a faint flash of light, Pawn disappeared from my side and went back to his rightful trainer.

"Just go to the gym already. If you get two badges, I'll let Bishop walk you." So now I was a pet? And it would be his gardevoir next time? On his Joel's side of the videophone, Pawn and Bishop sent themselves out and waved at me before their trainer ended communications

Gym? Good grief. Well, it wasn't the worst idea given what happened at Nacrene "gym" and Striaton "gym". But now, I didn't have Pawn pushing me to go. Without him there, it sure felt easy to become lazy and idle.

**~X~**

The story starts with a heroine with too big a heart.

She adores everything in life and shares things from the start.

A fallen comrade, she offers her hand.

A crying friend, she offers her shoulder.

A puzzled acquaintance, she offers her mind.

A sad stranger, she offers her smile.

And to everyone, she offers her heart.

But they just take and take and take

everything she holds out, never with wait

until there's nothing left.

When she's just an empty husk, a marionette,

she tries running and hiding, but they don't let

her escape, taking her un-offered legs for themselves.

Had she said no, had she run away, had she been less kind

she could have avoided her own inevitable land mine

and the chessboard would not be populated with her as pawns.

She started her game tipping the king

and would have lost no matter what.

When you're kind, you get walked over. When you're selfish, nobody likes you. I knew what both sides of the coin felt like.

I didn't believe that I was wrong in denying Shawn. But even still, Joel ended up taking him back before I knew what I was doing.

* * *

Author's note: To Mythgirl's review, yeah Sylviana was being a brat. Hopefully the context of when she was doing so hints at a bigger picture. But Eloise is kind of a pushover, so who knows, wink wink.


	7. Self-Destruction

I wandered outside the poké center early in the morning and stared at a Castelia City map just across the street. Sylviana wanted to go shopping or whatever, so I was alone again today. Apparently this huge city had four main roads running parallel to each other with smaller avenues woven in between them, so it would be a little more than impressive to get lost if I crossed more than two streets.

Castelia Gym resided on Gym Street. No surprise there. A short ways away, I spotted a sign for the place and started walking at a snail's pace. My speed had nothing to do with my mood or exhaustion state, no, no. It was due to the sheer number of people around me.

Waves of people crashed against and past each other in this wee early hour of the morning. This city's claim to fame was its business hub, but this was a little much. So many people in suits, so many people on cell phones, and so many people making noise noise noise! What a mess. Compared to Nacrene and Striaton City, and heck, even Opelucid, Castelia sure dwarfed them in more ways than one.

I hugged my bag close to me as I joined the wall of people walking down the street. Left and right, people bumped into me, but I did the same, so I tried to ignore the anger bubbling inside. Rentable bikes lined racks at every street corner, but who could ride one in this city? As much as I wanted to jump on a bike and have an easy ride to the gym, I sucked it up and kept walking. Not like the horde of people on either side of me would allow me to break free and turn right, anyway.

Eventually (a long eventually), I made it to Gym Street. The gym stood out with the poké ball symbol painted on the roof, so I found it quite easily. I thanked whatever would hear me that this road was a ghost town compared to the rest of the city.

I took several deep breaths before stepping through the automatic doors. I got blinded by white upon entering. Before I could figure out what was so white, a guy walked up to me and held a hand up to signal me to stop.

"I'm sorry, but Castelia Gym is currently closed."

"Closed?" He had to be kidding me. The third gym in a row I went to was also not in service? Bullshit. Why was the door unlocked, even?

"Our gym leader Burgh is out right now at Studio Castelia helping with a gallery project. Until he returns, challengers cannot enter the gym." This guy sure knew how to be blunt.

"Uh, thank you." Nothing else could be said.

"I'll tell you what I tell everyone else, though. Go to Studio Castelia and ask Burgh for a battle yourself. He usually comes back and prepares the gym for a challenge soon after you do."

"Oh. Where is this studio?"

"Sorry, kid?" The man leaned down and cupped a hand around his ear. Great, I mumbled again.

"Where is Studio Castelia?" I asked, enunciating every syllable as loud as I could.

Hopefully I didn't sound condescending. That's what always tripped me up about talking. If I pronounced everything loud, clear, and slowly, I would sound like I was talking down on people. If I talked low and slurred like I usually did, people asked me to repeat myself several times over until I looked the fool. There was no winning. So I tried to opt for absolute silence. Though I supposed that made me look like an alien or asshole or something.

"Try Mode Street."

"Thank you." I kind of nodded at him and turned tail to run. When the gym disappeared behind me, I sighed. "I passed Mode Street already."

I blended into the crowd again and drifted along while gripping the strap of my bag with both hands. How I wished the day was over already. Another long time later, I managed to cross into Mode Street.

On the right stood a building with _Studio Castelia_ printed on a sign standing outside. I double checked the name and entered. A lady immediately handed me a pamphlet and motioned for me to venture deeper into the gallery. The strange choice of spotlight lighting only on the art put me in a state of strange unease. I really hoped I wouldn't bump into something.

Paintings of varying color and readability hung on the walls. I paused to read the small pamphlet in my hand. Apparently kids from primary and secondary schools painted everything hung on the walls. Somewhere in the back area, a group of young artists had a painting workshop all of this week, too. Joy.

Seriously, if I wanted to realize how little I had done with my life, I would look in a mirror. I would admit, I wasted my life watching TV and playing video games. I wasn't even good at those two things, but they were my only "hobbies," though I couldn't say I was proud of them. As opposed to learning an instrument or drawing or playing a sport?

The violin case gathering dust in the corner of my room, sketchbook and paint set hidden away in the attic, deflated basketball under my bed that I was too lazy to take out, and bookshelf stocked with scholastic material that never saw the light of day from countless years ago spoke volumes about my passion levels.

I would just fall flat on my face as soon as I tried anything. Why would I bother embarrassing myself if I knew the outcome?

I didn't bother counting my stupid poetry. It didn't even matter. It didn't help that every person I met from school with a "special talent" made it seem as though said "special talent" was their whole personality. I got it. They were better than me. Okay. I didn't care. I accepted my wasted potential as fact.

Cynic? Check. Pessimist? Check. Jerk? Probably check. Lazy and hypocritical? Definitely check.

I woke up from my negative thoughts to see a new wall with _Gems of Our Youth_ on a banner hanging up high. What a motif to have. Kind of pretentious if you asked me. I had to walk down this hallway to get to the back, where I assumed this Burgh-guy would be, so I looked at each painting on display.

The first was of a little kid surrounded by some rock-type pokémon. How literal. Others followed with a similar idea. So everyone else but me in school really did have fun with pokémon before I did? I still wasn't sure if I was missing out on anything.

At the end of the hall was a piece with a plaque reading _Brave Jewel_. Contrasting from the rest of the wall, it was a microcosm of gems made to look like some stained glass picture of a group of girls standing on a stage, all reaching a hand out to the foreground. Such vibrance and precision with each stroke of paint on the canvas, the drive and confidence written on the characters' faces, and the obvious sheer time and effort and love put into this work would probably inspire anyone who looked at it that wasn't me. Stunning, actually. I was taken aback.

I didn't think I would like it, but I did. Not that I was an artist or anything, but the colors were pretty, the content was pleasant to look at, and it was something different from the rest of this sect of the gallery. Boy, did my last reason make me sound like a hipster.

It gave the feeling of breaking new ground and bettering oneself, aiming higher and higher to stand at the top. I liked it, but didn't live it. I was still being dragged along by fate instead of letting it guide me, or however that quote went. Look at the progress I've made on my journey, then look at, say, Joel.

Apparently my brother was a battle prodigy. Ignoring a rocky beginning with a rebellious Miles the pawniard, he almost immediately found a rhythm and kept going, very rarely losing. Well, that must have been an exaggeration; he probably just never admitted to losing as much as he actually did. Who would? Either way, he won the expected eight badges in like half a year, then kept pushing himself to greater heights.

At least, that was what our mom told me. A most definitely altered tale (or maybe not, who knows), it definitely didn't instill any passion in me to go on my own journey. Joel's team was tough and ruthless. They've plenty of accolades to fall back on. I'm still taking baby steps and hanging on by a thread.

I heard a commotion and turned around. A group of girls walked my way. So, I decided to move on in case I bumped into them, despite wanting to admire the painting a little longer. Had Pawn been with me, he probably would have made me stay since I already stopped to look at it and showed interest. But he wasn't, so I ran away.

After passing by a couple more exhibits with my head down, I made it to the back room. I opened the door in time to hold it for a tall man in green to speed-walk out. Inside was a group of teenagers situated in a circle, each before an easel. The suffocating smell of paint and ink pervaded the room. Crack a window or something, damn.

_Okay, now what_? I asked myself. I wanted to hit myself because only then did I realize I should have just asked the receptionist at the entrance about the gym leader instead of trying to find him on my own.

"Can I help you?" one girl asked me. Too late to turn around and walk away now.

Fuck everything. Everyone looked up at me, the stranger in the room, in dead silence. Was I an exhibit in a zoo to them? _Every single_ damn person had to turn their heads to stare? Could this day get any worse? I was already doused, marinating in self-doubt. Locking my eyes to the carpet, I said, "Is the gym leader here?"

Not missing a beat, someone else said, "He just left to run to get some paint."

Oh. _Just left_ as in he was the guy I held the door open for? Things usually did end up like this, didn't it? All I did was nod my head and turn around. "Thanks," I managed to mumble before leaving and closing the door.

I took long strides in exiting Studio Castelia. I needed to get out and breathe, away from the people I just embarrassed myself in front of. I didn't even care about finding the gym leader anymore. Burgh was probably going to go back to that room in the gallery when he returned, so I might as well have waited for him to be at his gym instead of going back there to spare myself the grief. Even if that did take a day or so.

I turned right and kept walking with my head down. Only when the sound of beat-heavy music pervaded my ears did I look up. Yet again, the scrafty with the number-one chain danced before a bunch of people, this time near a fountain. Now, he had a partner on either side of him, scrafty Number 2 and Number 5. Number 1 was definitely shorter than his friends. I guessed seeing him was going to be a regular occurence.

The three pokémon occupied stage right of the fountain. Stage left housed three men also dancing to the same sound. To get my mind off of my first failure of the day, I joined the crowd in front of the scrafty, making it in time for the song playing to end. Once it did, however, no one applauded yet. Come on, get on with it. I wanted to be entertained.

Number 1 and the middle dancer of the men met in front of the fountain. Number 1 grabbed the man's hand by jumping just to reach it, and continued his upward burst until the arm was up in the air. Only then did the people clap energetically. Once they quieted down, the man raised Number 1's arm, eliciting a deafening applause that left the man and his crew's response in the dust.

The man hung his head and shook Number 1's hand. His friends shook the hands of the other two scrafty. The three men then dispersed, leaving the whole stage to the scrafty. Another song started up, as well as the performing pokémon.

Okay, apparently that was a dance-off or something, one that the scrafty won. So proper and respectful too. It was actually kind of funny.

I ended up staying for the whole performance, which was about five more songs, in my strange daze. Gyms, battles, social interaction, who needed that on their mind? Certainly not me.

I mindlessly dug for 2,000 poké from my bag. Once the majority of the people gave money to the scrafty, I walked up and passed my contribution into the hat Number 1 held. Numbers 2 and 5 also held their hats out, but I needed to keep something constant in my life, even if that thing was giving 2,000 poké to a street-dancing scrafty whenever I saw him.

When I turned around to go back to the poké center, I realized that I didn't remember how I got where I was. But by the way Castelia City was laid out according to the map from earlier, if I just walked back, I would wind up in the same general area as the poké center. Probably.

So I went down one street picked at random and prayed that no danger would lie in wait. Foot traffic sure died down. I walked at a snail's pace (this time of my own volition) and looked down with the occasional glance to whatever shop or building stood to my right. I wasn't one for shopping anyway. Not like Sylviana, anyhow.

Nothing piqued my interest until I came face-to-face with a huge poster reading _80% off memberships for all pokémon this week!_

"Say what?" Confused, I looked up and around to realize it was for a gym. Not like a gym-battle-gym, but a workout-gym. What gave it away? How about the two machoke deadlifting huge weights next to the poster on the other side of the window of the building facing the street. One of them waved at me for some reason too.

At the sight of the weights, I thought of Rose. If she could get her arms that strong, I wouldn't have a mini heart attack every time she tried lifting her log indoors. And that 80% sure was pretty damn tempting. I actually would have gone inside and signed Rose up. Except, gyms scared me. Just going to gym class in school felt like an ordeal to me.

To step foot in a place where I was an outsider… How unwelcoming. If I went in there, people would probably just stare. At me, through me, down on me. I supposed the purpose of the gym was to reform people of my likeness, but it really seemed anything but comforting to enter. Every movement I made, an unsightly scene. Every workout attempted, an unnecessary loss of breath. Every second passed, a drop of sweat fallen that no one else shed.

I didn't have the strength to go in on my own. Too prideful and scared to even try, I convinced myself I would be judged upon entering a gym and told myself that it would be okay not even bothering. Goes to show my confidence and willpower.

Anyway, I guessed I let the prospect of Rose buffing up get to me a little too much because I somehow sent her out while I was deep in worried thoughts. I snapped out of it once I heard her log plop on the concrete below. Tell me that didn't cause damage to public property.

With a loud grunt, she poked a finger against the glass window at the machoke. The same one that waved at me waved at Rose.

"What? N-no, let's go back." Was she crazy? Did she want to join or battle him? Both were equally bad.

With maximum effort, Rose picked her log up with both hands and tapped my leg with it, almost toppling over in the process. "No-" I got cut off by Rose circling behind me and whacking my back with her log. "Stop that."

To get her to stop, I walked until she hit me again, trying to egg me into the gym. Why did I have to be such a pushover?

"No, Rose, you don't get it." Finally, she rested her log on the ground and looked up at me. "_I_ don't want to go in."

Without listening to anything else, the timburr shook her hand and head before pointing at the gym's entrance with a big smile on her face. I wished I had her optimism and excitement. Instead, only because I saw a woman standing inside with a uniform shirt on wave at me did I open the door and let Rose run in. "Please don't go wrong."

Surprisingly, Rose had manners. She walked up to the stand the woman who waved stood at and waited for me. I reluctantly approached, every metal clang from inside the gym almost making me jump.

"Hello, welcome to Bulk Up Fitness!" the woman greeted rather energetically. She leaned down to reach eye-level with me. "How can I help you?"

_Just inquire about the poster_. Hopefully I could do that. Instead, I said, "I'm interested in the membership deal…"

The woman's face lit up. "Really? That's great. You're so not going to regret this!"

Why would I regret it unless this gym sucked? It looked clean and had a bunch of equipment and customers. Confused as to what she meant, I said something else. "How much is it?"

"Huh? Oh, well…" She looked at me funny and grabbed a laminated flyer that was taped to the wall behind her in plain sight. Whoops. Egg on my face again? Like I needed any more.

But what I read hit me like a slap to the face. It was the last thing that I expected to see.

"Wh-what?" Was I reading that right?

"The full membership includes full access to all machines in the gym, special classes that are held on the weekends, and a personal trainer."

She smiled at me. Not Rose. Me. A smile that shone an artificial spotlight on me that burned my eyes.

"Your trainer will walk you through a personalized exercise and diet regimen that gets results!"

"I…" Shut up. Please shut up and stop smiling at me like that.

"Trust me. My friend was overweight, but she really wanted to change that. So, she joined this membership and came here every day. Eventually, she lost all her extra weight and looks fabulous now!" She keeps going, talking and talking like she's paid to. The woman put a hand on her stomach for extra effect. Oh, was there an extra effect. "It's so worth the price."

My mind fizzled out. My face went on fire. My heart raced faster and faster, pounding in my ears. Every time I opened my mouth, my breath hitched and I was left looking like an idiot. How could I react to that?

Why couldn't I run away?

"Are you okay?" The woman touched my arm. "I know this is a really big step for you, but just know that you're so brave for doing this. I know other people like you wouldn't. Weight loss journeys are always so tough to start, but you can definitely slim down in no time! Just doing small things in addition to coming here can help, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or drinking water instead of soda." She pointed at the juice bottle on the outside pocket of my bag meant for Rose. God, shut up. "I can tell you're having trouble right now, but if you get a little more self control, imagine how much better you'll become. You're still young. You'll be pretty and popular for sure."

Her words pelted me like rocks on a sandcastle. That is to say, I felt like I was collapsing in on myself. But there were no soothing waves to wash me away from this place.

Just shut up. No one asked you. I didn't want to hear that. I didn't need to hear that. My throat clogged up and my eyes lost focus. What did she expect me to say? Thanks? In what world would I do that?

I took a long breath before I mustered the ability to speak again. "I…" Every time I blinked, my vision got blurrier and blurrier. I just want it to stop. Stop the lump in my throat, the woman's expectant look at me, time...

"My timburr wanted the membership."

Unknowing Rose cried out at her mention. The woman gasped and peered over the counter at my timburr and covered her mouth. "Oh, my god, I'm so sorry. I…"

I couldn't talk. Even if I wanted to, what would I say? _Fuck you_? _Why would you say that_? _I'm not fat_? All such wrong answers.

I felt a warm droplet slide down my left cheek and slapped my hand over it to cover it up. I'd give anything to know how to stop this from happening. When I opened my mouth again, instead of words, a mangled gasp came out. I bit my lip and put my other hand in a fist over my face to attempt to hide it.

"Oh, my god, I'm sorry." The woman panicked, but no matter what she did, she couldn't help me. I only prayed to some god above that she didn't see the tear that slipped out. As if my blazing face wouldn't be a dead giveaway.

My nails pierced my palms. As much as I wanted to run away, my legs refused to move. If I let go of my mouth, I knew I would start full-on crying. And my head was completely empty. I could feel my brain frying.

Why? Why did this happen? I was such a baby. I was much closer to 18 than 17, and there I stood, having a breakdown in public over something only I found issue in. Pathetic.

Poor Rose pulled on my pant leg as I tried to forcibly eliminate all the pooled tears from my eyes by rubbing them. She probably didn't know better.

I managed to reach a state of utter shame without showing too many obvious signs by the time another woman came to take the first one's place. So she ran away from this mess she made. Nice to know she was able to do that.. "Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"Y-yes."

"Your eyes are kinda red. Are you sure?"

So she didn't know? All the better. "Just allergies." I forced the words out.

"Oh, well, here's a tissue." She pulled out a tissue pack from her sweatshirt and handed me one. "Sorry, is it the dust? One of our other regulars said the same thing earlier. We've been renovating this area lately, so there's a little more dust than there usually is."

She really didn't know. One less person I ridiculed myself in front of today. "Kind of. I'll be fine."

"If you're sure. Anyway, my coworker said you wanted a membership for your friend there, I think?" The woman pointed at Rose.

"Yes."

"Then let's get to it. If you sign up today, there's an 80% discount for her for a yearly membership!" She slid a paper my way with a bunch of text on it.

With this membership, Rose would get full access to equipment and services 24/7 in all Bulk Up Fitness gyms in Unova. The price was damn good without the discount, even, too, all things considered.

If I talked more than I had to, I would start breathing funny and probably cry, I knew. Because I never went out besides for school and never talked when I didn't have to, this situation hadn't happened for years. Again, I forced myself to speak. "We would like that."

"Great!"

I signed some sheet, handed over the money, set Rose up to take a membership photo, and waited for everything to be finalized. It went by in a flash thanks to the previous exchange playing on a loop inside my head. So many things that could have gone different. So many things I could have done different. Once the woman came back to us with an ID card with Rose's picture on it on a lanyard, she waved us off and addressed another customer.

Right after I took the card and motioned for Rose to go crazy, the timburr wandered over to the weights rack. I reluctantly followed her.

Near the rack was a sitting space against the wall that I collapsed in. Covering my mouth again, I took deep breaths and did my best to pretend that the first interaction never happened.

Rose hopped onto the spot next to me and scratched the back of her head while making an uncomfortable groan.

"Huh?" She was supposed to be lifting, not bothering with me. "What? Just go work out or whatever."

Rose rooted through my bag (it seemed everyone did that as of late) and pulled out a napkin. She probably only knew where to get that because I always took one out to pass to her whenever she got sweaty from lifting the dumb log for too long.

"What?" Wasn't this embarrassing. I slowly took the napkin and rubbed my face with it, hoping nobody looked our way. Why did she know to do this? Guessed I should have given her more credit than I did. "Thanks, I guess."

She hopped back down to the weights and took her time picking one. Countless dumbbells (countless only because I couldn't care less about how many there were) lined the rack. I noted Rose ditched her log by my feet.

When Rose picked two small weights to practice lifting, I stopped looking up and instead glared at the floor. As she rhythmically grunted just a few feet away, I stewed in negative thoughts pertaining to the first worker I talked to. Wishing bad things on her, on me… I regretted it all.

No one told me this would be part of my journey. I supposed it was my own fault in a way for not saying what I meant clearly, but boy did that lady go overboard on her excitement to "help" me. No one would want to hear that. Did she really think I was that much of a loser? To ease my self-loathing and shame, I blamed it all on her. Much easier for me. Plus, it wasn't wrong.

I stared at the seconds hand ticking on my wristwatch to calm down and pass the time. And yes, that was the reason I had one on top of an Xtransceiver. A minute elapsed, then two, five, ten.

After about an hour, Rose stopped her workout and put the equipment she used back in their places. Good manners, I would admit. She walked up to me and sat on her log. Was she tired, bored, or other? I couldn't tell. All I knew was that I wanted to leave. "Done?"

She clasped her hands together and kicked her legs with a grunt. Did she do something wrong? That's what her behavior read.

"What?" How many times had I asked that this week? Before I could muster any other words, Rose somehow returned herself and left me alone inside the gym. At least that meant I could leave.

How I wished that were easy to carry out. Many other people and pokémon filled the gym. Had I not kept my head down, I probably would have noticed them coming in. So all I had to do was leave the gym as inconspicuously as I could and pray that no one stared at me.

I gripped my bag strap and glued my eyes to the ground again. Only then did I manage to stand up and scurry to the exit.

Sweet relief hit me just as the sun did. I took a right and kept walking at my fastest speed, forcing the heavy breaths I wanted to make to come out as shallow ones. I stopped at a crosswalk once the pedestrian light turned red and finally looked around as I caught my breath.

An equal amount of people flooded the streets as this morning. Except instead of being stressed suits, they were other teenagers and kids. Not like that made me feel any more uneasy or anything.

A bunch of small restaurants and entertainment centers clustered at this intersection. The one place that managed to catch my attention was a cafe just a few strides away. From the big signs posted for passersby to see, this place offered internet and computer services.

My mind wandered to _The Goddesses Above_, an online game I played every day at home since its advent a few months ago. Before I left Opelucid City, I stayed at home playing video games whenever I didn't have to go to school. But since I started my journey, I had to give it all up because I couldn't exactly bring my computer with me everywhere I went.

Also, playing games would hinder my journey's progress. I had to think of it as motivation to get my eight gym badges as soon as possible. That line of thinking got me out the door and all the way to Nuvema Town. But now, it made me wish I never left the house at all.

Realizing my day had been a nightmare and that I just didn't care, period, I shifted gears and entered the cafe offering internet. Really, this day couldn't get any worse, so I didn't fear interacting with a worker as much as I would have any other day.

I managed to not fuck everything up. After lining up in a queue and paying for eight hours at a private computer booth, I went in and settled down. More like I melted into the chair before the computer and inhaled and exhaled a bunch. To stop whatever feelings remained from earlier from making me break down, I ended up breathing into the crook of my arm and trying to force myself to stop freaking out by biting my lip off.

I managed to compose myself eventually. It always was eventually. When I did, I put my hands on the computer and checked for the one thing I wanted. And thank God it was there.

_The Goddesses Above_'s icon stared at me from the desktop. It was a pretty popular game, after all. I launched it and logged in. The familiar music and visuals made me relax and gave me a goal. The four main characters offered their hands to me on the loading screen, and of course I took them. I looked up all the updates and events, and for the first time today smiled.

_Yes, Fallen Neptune is the focus of this event!_ I cheered internally. Never would I talk to myself aloud. My favorite character had a whole new quest line for the next full week, and I couldn't wait to play it all. _But, fuck, I missed so many other events_.

I got to work. I leaned into the monitor and adjusted my glasses. I had something to keep me occupied for a while. An unmotivated fat girl walks into an internet cafe and doesn't leave. Well, until night fell, of course. Only then did I leave to go back to the poké center. What, were you expecting, a joke?

The next day? I went back to the cafe and spent a whole twelve hours playing until I went back to the poké center again. The same went for the next day. And the next. And the next. And so on. Maybe I stayed for the next event for Fallen Plutia as well.

It was so much easier than dealing with my journey, I had to admit.

**~X~**

The glass house I call home serves me refuge

from pushes in every direction no matter how strong

to shakes and quakes right to it's very core

and screaming coming from the world outside.

It resonates with the glass jar in my chest

that serves the same purpose.

But all great things aren't meant to last.

It puts up a brilliant fight until a crack forms,

and that crack spreads and grows until

the floor disappears from beneath my feet

and I start falling.

No matter how I flail and reach for anything to save me,

nothing is going to protect me now.

I kiss the ground and am now vulnerable

to sticks, stones, words, and despair.

Not knowing anything that lied beyond the glass walls,

I sink into the glass shards and bury myself in them,

trying to hide from fears I know not yet of

while defeat writes itself on my forehead.

But the reason for its collapse is that

I was too much too handle; I broke it from the inside.

And so, it let me fall.

Even still, I choose to keep hiding in it.

* * *

Author's note: And Eloise falls. I hope her being overweight wasn't too out of left field; I think I kind of hinted at it enough previously, like during the Rose chase. And also hopefully it's not too shallow; it is a factor in her cynicism, and will come up again in future chapters. Truth be told, I actually based that trait as well as Eloise's anxieties (gym, image, failure, and so on) on personal experience, so I can vouch for its plausibility. To end on a higher note, why not check out "Brave Jewel" by Roselia.


	8. Rising Passion

I lost count of how many days I let pass me by after just one. I supposed I could have taken how many events I played through in _The Goddesses Above_ (which I had kept track of) and multiplied it by the event lifespan of seven days, but didn't care to. Every time I went into the cyber café and logged into the game, I had more fun the whole day than any moment in my journey.

I had until next June, when this coming school year ended, to get eight gym badges. A whole eleven months, about. It would be fine.

Though, my beef wasn't really about pokémon or my journey. It was with that horrible experience in Bulk Up Fitness that lasted about five minutes. Refusing to look back on it lest I wallowed in my own patheticness, I just didn't think about it at all. _The Goddesses Above_, baby, and nothing more was on my mind. That was all that I really cared about.

Battling wasn't even that fun, anyway.

Once I finally got a rare drop from an enemy in the game and upgraded my weapon, I logged out and stood up. I timed it perfectly, too; I exited my computer station just in time for my paid session to expire. 8:43, so said my watch seven minutes fast.

I stepped outside the building and let the cool evening air surround me. Well, as cool as midsummer air got in the city; it's late-ish July right now. For some reason, the street outside the café sparsely had passersby at night, I observed over the past few weeks.

The streetlight flickered above me at the intersection just as the pedestrian light turned red. Feeling uneasy at just that, I sent Rose out and helped her carry her log. That had been the way things went every time I returned to the poké center at night. Rose seemed the most bodyguard-esque pokémon in my party. She complied without issue, so I assumed she was fine with it.

With a grunt, the timburr tried lifting the log on her own again. Maybe I should have taken an hour each day to bring her to her gym as a thank-you, but my pride wouldn't allow me to step through that door again.

"Green light." I took one end of the log and pulled her gently to move along. Just as I stopped to let Rose jump off the sidewalk ledge, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around and came face-to-face with a guy with a blue and brown dog by his feet. That dog… I immediately didn't like it. Looked too much like that stoutland that wreaked havoc on Rose and my sanity.

I stepped back out of instinct, almost causing Rose to fall down given the death grip she had on her log. What did this guy want so late at night? And yes, 9-ish PM was late at night.

I waited for him to talk first. Hopefully Rose would act out if he tried anything. The guy flashed his Xtransceiver at me and said, "When trainers' eyes meet, battle starts. That's the rule of the road!"

He had to be kidding me. Said who? Wasn't that just a phrase fed to beginning trainers to ease them into battles? Anyway, he wasn't joking. He stood there, pointing at his Xtransceiver, waiting for me to respond. Seriously? I didn't even look him in the eye. I purposely kept my gaze on the sidewalk to avoid eye contact all the time.

"Uh, well…" Man, I barely talked at all since I started going to that cyber café regularly. My voice probably sounded mangled as all hell.

"Let's go!" Why did he have so much energy?

On one hand, I didn't care about battling. On the other hand, I was tired. But, on another hand, Rose beckoned the guy's dog toward her, and it couldn't have hurt to win money off this jerk. "Sure…" Instant regret for no reason at all commenced.

"Alright." We registered on _Spar Star_ and stood opposite each other along the sidewalk. But seriously, the sidewalk? Could we have picked any more of an inconvenient place to do our stupid little battle?

The guy, Frankie, wanted a one-on-one. Rather than wasting energy contemplating someone, I picked Rose, who jumped out on the ready. Frankie's dog, a herdier, was our opponent.

"Rose, let's make this quick."

"Use takedown!" Way to give me a chance. The guy's herdier charged at Rose with reckless abandon.

"Uh, uh…" I forgot what moves Rose knew for a second. "Low kick."

The timburr took a sidestep and stuck her leg out. Once the herdier came close enough, she swung it up, hard, causing him to stop, lift into the air a few inches, then fall to the ground. As Rose brought her leg back down, she struck the dog again on the head before resuming her battle stance.

"Get up and bite, Jack!"

The dog came in hot again, this time with his fangs bared. Not knowing whether or not it would work, I banked on Rose's apparent brute strength and said, "Pound."

She punched Jack right in the face. More like he ran straight into it. Either way, the herdier got sent back and panted heavily.

"Oh, no. Are you alright? Maybe we should sto-"

A loud growl sounded out; Jack cut his trainer off and barked at him. More like scolded? That's what it looked like. "If you're sure." But he was the guy who proposed the battle! "Then roar, and breathe for a second."

_Is he feral or something_? I thought once he gave the command. Roar? Jack's wailing brought me out of my thoughts. He leaned close to the ground and barked with all he had. My heart pounded the instant the noise penetrated my ears. Were they trying to wake the neighborhood?

Rose got blown back a step, but held her ground. Probably due to the weight of her log, I assumed. That was, until she broke into a scowl of madness and ran back to me, then wailed on my bag until I fumbled her poké ball out. Once done, she jumped and returned herself. The fuck? On her way back in, I felt another poké ball wiggle. I knew that roar's frequency screwed with poké ball tech somehow, but didn't care to remember what.

"Huh?" The next thing I knew, Gummy stood where Rose once did. He turned around and looked at me expectantly. Oh, boy. "Later. If you win." I knew what he wanted.

Suddenly, Gummy was at the ready for battle. I looked back to Jack, who already caught his breath during the little surprise. Well, Rose had the type advantage, but how bad could Gummy be? Seeing as though we never battled together, and when I caught him, he threw the battle…

"Surprised?" Frankie lifted his baseball cap to smooth over his hair. "Oh, well. Takedown again."

"Uh…" I quickly flipped open to _Stat Star_ and checked what moves Gummy knew. Only three. "String shot."

As I expected, he shot out a sticky string at Jack, wrapping him tight. What I didn't expect was Gummy jumping into the air once his move landed. Although the string shot seemed to slow Jack down, the dog didn't stop charging ahead. So, Gummy got pulled along with him like the string shot was a lasso.

"What the?" Frankie said. That was my line. Yee-haw, cowboy.

"What are you doing?" I said just as Jack stopped his takedown. Since he wasn't being pulled along anymore, Gummy dropped straight down. And landed on Jack's back somehow. "Oh my god, what a miracle. Was that on purpose?" I actually wanted to laugh.

Gummy turned around to smile at me. No, he couldn't be going above and beyond just because I promised him _it_ if he won. Yes, _it_.

"Oh, uh, bug bite!" Back on the road of predictability. Gummy chomped down on the herdier's tail and gnawed like crazy, practically chewing it.

Jack shook himself, then dropped and rolled on the ground. He flung the sewaddle off like a pest and rubbed his tail against the concrete sidewalk like he was scratching it, all the while whimpering.

"Don't worry, he's off of you," Frankie called to no avail. Jack kept whipping his tail against the sidewalk.

So that bug bite was more of a nuisance than a pain? Good to know. "Try razor leaf?" The leaf cape behind Gummy's head glowed bright green before he sent three copies of it flying at Jack. I didn't bother trying to figure out how that worked.

"Oh, no!" Because Jack was occupied with scratching himself, he was an easy target. All three leaves managed to strike his back. Upon impact, each burst into a cloud of green dust. At least it was pretty. I saw the string shot around Jack get severed from the move.

Once the green dust died down, I looked to see Jack on the ground, not trying to get up. His trainer ran and hugged the dog before passing him a sitrus berry. I stood awkwardly waiting for him to finish up. Meanwhile, Gummy tapped my shoe and looked poised to climb up my leg.

"Okay, fine. Just get off me." I bent down and, as discreetly as I could, slipped him a stick of gum. He chewed like a madman and hummed in what seemed like bliss.

After three minutes of Frankie coddling Jack, I walked up to them and hesitated before saying, "He alright?"

"Yeah, it's good." Frankie let go of his herdier and stood up. His dog then followed and sniffed at Gummy, who stood on my shoe for some reason or another. Man, was he heavy, too. Still chewed on his gum, though.

"Cool." How was I supposed to give Gummy the boot? My foot became numb in a matter of seconds. Staring at Gummy, I noticed a glimmering silver string around Jack's back legs in my peripherals. "He's still got a little string shot on him." I pointed in case he couldn't hear me

"Oh, thanks." Frankie bent down and ripped the string off with care. "Anyway, good battle. I thought we'd win after using roar, but I guess we gotta work on that strategy."

"Yeah, it was a close one." Just go along with pleasantries.

"Anyway, you won." Frankie tapped his Xtransceiver, prompting me to do the same.

"Alright." My win ratio went higher, and I had to admit, it felt kind of nice. Not the battle aspect of it or anything. That would always be a draining experience. No, I meant winning.

As in being _better_ than someone. I didn't care about what that said about me since I would never say that aloud.

"Not so fast!" I looked to the source of noise to see another guy running to Frankie. "You lost?"

"Yeah, man."

"Oh. Then let me battle you!" The second guy held his fist up and smiled. I wasn't sure if those two gestures went together.

"Uh, I…"

"I'm even stronger than Frankie. Come on." Even more of a reason not to accept his challenge. But, feeling pressure as the two guys stared at me, I reluctantly lifted my Xtransceiver and let that speak for itself.

And so, I now faced this George guy. How and why this happened, I wished I knew. I just wanted to go back and sleep.

"Go, Gus!" George sent out some mushroom with a poké ball motif on its head. Frankie stood next to him, holding his herdier in his hands.

I scanned the pokémon, a foongus, and sent my choice out accordingly. To type advantage, that is, not preference. "Tempest." Regret, regret. I should have chosen Pepper. Yeah, why did I pick Tempest over Pepper? I assumed it would be in bad taste to send someone else out, though.

"Toxic!" Gus's poké ball cap glowed purple. He cast out scary purple spores that drifted to Tempest. The sheer amount that he sent out made it very unlikely to dodge it.

"Uh, Tem-"

A loud chirp cut me off. Not waiting for me, Tempest flapped her wings and cast gust, causing the toxic to disperse in every direction except hers.

"I don't get you, Tempest." Sometimes she was as dumb as a board, other times sassy or quick on her feet. "Then air cutter." One, two. Of course we were back to the repetition game. "Air cutter."

"Gus, use mega drain."

"Air cutter!" Damn it all. At least Tempest hit hard when she wanted to. She let it rip once I gave the word, just as Gus started charging his move. From three clean hits, Gus fell back and didn't rise.

And he was stronger than Jack? Well, maybe if toxic hit, probably.

"Ah, man." George picked his foongus up and cradled him in his arms. We finalized our battle results and went on our separate ways. No need to linger on two random dudes that challenged me in the middle of the street at night to battle.

I stumbled to the poké center with a slightly elated heart. Tonight, I was _better_ than those two guys. I wanted to ride that high for as long as I could.

**~X~**

Early next morning, I set out to go to the cyber café again. Except once I stepped out the front door of the poké center, I came face-to-face with a bisharp wearing a choker similar to Pawn's like an armband on his right arm. He held his arms out and blocked me from going forward.

That feeling I got, the sound of this guy's breathing, that we perfectly stood literally eye-to-eye… He was Miles! On cue, right after my little epiphany, the bisharp jabbed his arms at me, faking stabs. "No, what? Please stop."

"What the hell are you still doing here?" rang a familiar voice. I looked to my left to see Joel coming towards us. How long had it been since we last met in-person? "It's been a month."

"Why are you here?" I countered with. A weak counter.

"You haven't given a badge update in forever. I guessed you were still in Castelia, and I came at the right time to see I was right." Despite his low volume, I felt the frustration radiating from him. "I'll ask again. What are you doing here?"

"I-"

"Did you beat Burgh yet?'

"No-"

"Did you lose?"

"Hold-"

"Well then? Why haven't you left Castelia yet?"

Only then did he give me ample time to answer. But what was I supposed to say? The truth? How shameful. After flapping my mouth open and closed a bunch with no sound coming out, I finally said, "Gym."

"It _was_ the gym, huh? Because you lost, you've been farting around here for a whole month?" He grabbed my sleeve and dragged me back into the poké center and out to the battlefields, Miles blocking off any chance of escape.

"No, the gym-"

"Then come at me. Come on. Miles."

"What?" The bisharp brushed past me, purposely nudging my arm on the way to stand in front of his trainer on the side of the battlefield opposite where Joel left me.

"Use everyone you have. Try to knock Miles."

Oh, was that impossible. Why was this happening? He didn't even let me give a full answer before he forced this on me. Did he assume I meant the pokémon gym? I meant Bulk Up Fitness! Even so, why did he care so much that he even hunted me down to do this?

"Uh…"

"We're not moving until you try. At least try. You can do that much, right?" How insulting.

"But-"

"I'm waiting." Wow, would I have never guessed that we would be in this position in a million years.

Knowing he was true to his word, I reluctantly sent out Pepper. Good God, did this have a predictable outcome.

"Your move first." So Miles was going to attack too? We were screwed.

"Ember…" Cute as she was, Pepper still only knew ember and tackle. With all her might, she let go of a long breath of fire bits straight at her opponent.

Joel didn't say anything, and Miles didn't move a millimeter. The flame shot out and hit the bisharp on the chest. When the fire died out, Miles was completely unaffected. Like, not even a little black dust on his metal or anything.

"Night slash. Do it lightly." In a flash, Miles appeared in front of Pepper and tapped her on the head with a blade glowing purple. The tepig flinched away and groaned. I couldn't tell if it really hurt or not. What the hell was _lightly_ supposed to mean?

"She's out. Next." Joel stood with his arms crossed. Miles returned to his starting position without instruction as Pepper and I were left wondering what happened.

"Uh…" So one hit outs? "Tempest."

Might as well use her now. Pepper trotted back to stand by my feet as Tempest landed on the field, clueless as she usually was in these situations. "Air cutter." One, two. "Air cut-"

"Iron head." Wasn't even going to let us charge up? Miles dashed up to the pidove and gave her a headbutt out of the air. "Next."

"Oh come on!" Even I knew this wasn't fair. At my brother's command, Tempest retreated to perch on Pepper's back. At least she wasn't really hurt. "Gummy."

"Goddamn, I can't believe he's Gummy."

Hardy har har. "Razor leaf."

"Sucker punch." Miles decimated the leaves with a glowing uppercut and knocked Gummy's head with it. "Next "

"What is this?" Seriously, there was no way in Hell this was happening. Gummy scuttled back to me and hung his head. I threw a stick of gum his way anyway. "Rose." The timburr made a _come at me_ motion with her hand. At least she was raring to go. Couldn't say the same for me.

"Drop the log if you want even a ghost of a chance of lasting more than a minute." She actually complied.

"Brick break." Miles lunged forward with his hand poised for chopping, aiming extremely low to reach his opponent. Surprisingly fast for a guy his size and make. Rose took a stance that read like she wanted to take the move head-on.

"What are you doing? Oh my god, dodge it somehow." She seriously thought she could take it.

Next thing I knew, Rose squatted down and tuck-and-rolled through Miles's legs. By some miracle, his brick break created a wide-enough opening for the timburr to slip through unharmed. However, there had to be a catch.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Miles!" I was so enamored by Rose's sick dodge that I ignored the main problem: to collect himself after missing his strike, Miles bounced up after his arm struck the ground and pushed himself forward to land nicely.

Except, I was in his way. He was going to slam himself into me. All of his sharp, metal-ish appendages? Boy, would that hurt. In my shock, neither flight nor fight activated within me. What a cruel turn of events. Did bad things always have to happen? Sure happened more often than not at all.

Miles snapped his head at me and swung an arm out and stabbed his hand into the dirt. In an instant, he veered to his right and tumbled behind me. At the end of his painful-looking detour, the bisharp landed on his back only to flip onto his feet in no time. He let out a cool, sharp breath.

Miles sauntered back to his position in front of Joel while Rose and I watched him in awe. Impressive, I would admit. Not knowing whether or not it would be appropriate to shout a move out, I waited on my brother.

"Night slash."

"Low kick." Low volume, too. On my part, at least. Rose squatted again and braced herself, faintly glowing as she waited for Miles to attack her. "Bide at a time like this?"

Miles jet to Rose before coming to a dead stop in front of her. Only then did he thump her head with his move. That just made it more embarrassing.

"That's all you've got?" Joel approached Miles and they stood in front of me in sync, both crossing their arms and looking down on me. Looking down only because I bent down to pass Rose her log.

"I didn't say I wanted to battle." Tempest and Gummy sat on opposite ends of Rose's log as she tried (failed) to lift it while she grumbled to herself.

"Now what are you going to do? Quit?" Miles pushed me on the shoulders for added effect.

"What? No."

"Then what's the problem if you're not fazed by losing?" Joel took my hand and tapped my Xtransceiver through to _Spar Star_, specifically my win-loss ratio. The loss value was a searing eyesore, but it wasn't like it was something I could change.

"I said the problem was the gym."

"Burgh's not an asshole. What do you mean the problem is the gym?" How did he know Burgh so well? Eh, actually, if a gym leader were an asshole, they probably would be fired sooner or later.

"I meant the, the gym!" The name of it eluded me for a second.

"Which gym?"

"The gym." I flailed my arm out to point in the general direction of what I was talking about.

"_Which_ gym?"

"_The_ gym!" Goddamn, how many gyms were in Castelia City?

"_Which _gym?" He almost blew my ears out. I probably almost did the same to him. Luckily, no one was around at the moment. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The, _the_ gym!" Fuck, man. I dug through my bag and pulled out my wallet. From there, I took out Rose's gym card. "Bulk Up Fitness!"

Joel snatched it from my hands and wheezed as he read through it. "Bulk Up Fitness, huh?"

"Yes." Finally.

"What the fuck about Bulk Up Fitness?" There we went again. He threw the card back at me, which I barely caught. "It's a good gym!"

"Stop saying Bulk Up Fitness!" Such a clunky name.

"Then what the hell's the problem?"

Only then did I get a window to answer. Man, had I been a spectator to our little conversation, I would probably be laughing my ass off. With my head focused on the absurdity of our situation, I forgot about the shame from Bulk Up Fitness. "I… I went to sign Rose up."

"Yes, she has a membership card, yes." Gee, the end, I guessed.

"But…" I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. The memory wasn't exactly the end if the world. A close second, though. "The worker thought I wanted to sign up myself. She really tried to sell me on it. Then I didn't want to do anything anymore, and kept going out to play _The Goddesses Above_."

Hopefully he could parse my bad explanation himself. He also played the game, and we sometimes went co-op. He stayed silent for a moment before sighing. "Did you even try challenging Burgh?"

Could he not guess? That wasn't even the issue. "No. What does that-"

"Then forget about Bulk Up Fitness. Beat Burgh, go to Nimbasa—No, Asperita Town. Go to that Bulk Up Fitness and beat that gym, and don't come back to Castelia, then." His tone was really condescending. In theory, that sounded like a plan. However, at this point, it was more like I was too lazy than I was so emotionally scarred by that experience to keep going.

"But I'm lazy." I had no qualms admitting that to Joel.

"Then that's too bad. You're challenging the gym now." He went around me and poked my back. "Go. Go on. Miles didn't actually hurt them."

I checked each of my pokémon out before I returned them. Indeed, it appeared as though the only damage dealt was to pride. At least, no one cried bloody murder. Except maybe a bitter Rose. "Owie."

Joel poked my shoulder especially hard. Miles did the same. Oh no. To avoid any more unnecessary pain, I started walking. Out the poké center and through the streets, to Castelia Gym we went. What a mess. Rather than walking, Joel more pushed me there. Like Pawn, except more forceful. At the door, he entered first with Miles behind me making sure I didn't get lost. Did this constitute as bullying?

Again, once inside the gym, I was blinded by a bright light. After my vision adjusted, I looked around the place to see a completely white room with what looked like silk and webs everywhere. Suspended in the air, connected by silk paths were several little hives made out of the same material. Yeah, this was the bug-type gym, alright. I felt itchy just looking at it.

"Welcome. How can I help you, Joel?" the man that pointed me to Castelia Studio weeks ago asked. At least, I thought it was the same guy. Either way, how did he know Joel?

"She's a challenger." My brother shoved me forward. "We're going straight up."

"Alright then, champ. Burgh's at the top of this gym." The man pointed up at the largest web hive. "Good luck."

Good luck? That was all I got? Even if he did say something else over his shoulder, Joel pushed me again into one of the hives on the ground floor, the one farthest to the left and back, so I didn't catch it. Inside, a narrow and long path led out and up at the exit.

Still with a knife to my back, I trudged along the road and sighed. This specific path went all the way to the top if I was seeing it right. However, it coiled around the walls of the gym in a spiral to the peak cocoon. I would have rathered stairs than this strange incline that was more akin to a slide than a bridge.

"Don't fall." That was the advice Joel gave me? Like I wanted to.

Beneath my feet, the silk bounced as I stepped and stuck to my shoes. Was this really safe? As we went up, I looked to the middle of the room and only then realized its intricacy. So artsy and complex. Each cocoon room must have been made with purpose, and it was all such a pure silverish-white.

Did the gym leader really have that much time on his hands? Or did he just have boatloads of money to throw at interior designers? Either way, it didn't help make the trek to the gym leader's chamber any easier.

I kept my head down as we walked, trying my best to ignore Miles and Joel poking me. How did Miles not break and fall through the webs? That would be a sight to behold.

A long while later, I took the last step leading to the top cacoon, not yet entering. I needed to catch my breath. And on the inside waited the gym leader? Hold on. We were moving way too fast. What did I even have to do?

Not letting me panic over this situation to my fullest extent, Joel and Miles gave me one final push into the room. Once inside, I stumbled and corrected myself in time to not have anybody see me fall flat on my face literally.

The floor? Oh, the floor. It was rainbow. That was the only word to describe it. At the back of the room, a man stood before an easel, a color palette in his hand with a paint brush in the other. He looked fashionable, I guessed, whatever that meant. Tall? Whatever, he was a dude all the same.

"Hm? Oh, Joel! Good to see you again. Here for another bout?" He set his paints to the side and strode up to my brother with his hand stuck out.

"Nice to see you again, Burgh. But no, not today. Maybe later." Joel shook the hand offered. How familiar were they? Battle buddies? But Burgh was a gym leader. I saw Joel discreetly rub the hand he shook with on his pants, a small orange stain forming as a result.

"Oh? Then what brings you today?" Burgh wiped a smidgen of green paint that marred his face. However, an orange one took its place. My brother didn't say anything about it, and neither did I. The gym leader then took out a handkerchief and properly cleaned himself.

"My sister will battle you." No, not a request, but a statement. Way to put me on the spot.

"You have a sister, do you?" Burgh offered me his now-clean hand. "How do you do? I am Burgh, leader of Castelia Gym."

I shook it and nodded with the most polite smile I could muster. His hand was surprisingly cold. "Eloise."

"How do you stack up to Joel?" He had to compare us right off the bat?

"Not well." I gave a dry laugh.

"She's a beginner." Way to not mince words.

"Then no gym badges yet, I would assume?" Burgh walked back to his painting station and opened a drawer from a small table to the side, retrieving a tray full of poké balls.

"No," Joel answered for me again.

"Alrighty, then." Burgh pulled out three of the capsules. He attached them to a small belt he wore that already had three poké balls on it. Did that mean he picked a baby team for me to battle against?

So we were doing this. It was too late to chicken out, if Joel would even let me. I was against the bug-type gym leader of Unova. So Pepper and Tempest. And I guessed Rose? I barely practiced with Gummy.

"Shall we begin?" Burgh tossed a poké ball and out came a swadloon. I only knew the species because I looked into Gummy when I caught him. "A three-on-three single battle it is!"

He might as well not have asked that. I stepped up and reluctantly grasped Pepper's poké ball. To go in guns blazing or to not, that was the question. If the gods or whatever above smiled down upon me and gifted me with infinite luck, I could breeze through this with Pepper alone. Sadly, that would never be reality. All I could do was send my little tepig out.

With a squeal, she looked around until she realized the situation we were in. Pepper then snorted out a small flame from her nose and bent her legs like she was going to jump forward. Well, at least she was happy. Couldn't say as much for me. I stayed quiet as I tried to set myself at ease in the weird position I found myself in. For some reason, Burgh waited on me to start.

"Er, ember." What, were you expecting tackle?

"Jump and use struggle bug, Bud." He said it so coolly, I thought I was doing something wrong. And jump? That thing with no legs?

I stood corrected as Bud sprung into the air to hover above Pepper. Before anything else happened: Bud? As in, plant bud? Anyway, the swadloon fell down and landed on top of Pepper. He then proceeded to wiggle and flail on top of her, leaping off once she snorted some fire from her nose out of instinct.

"What?" Did that do anything? I got my answer as some green energy bound Pepper like a net. It didn't seem to do lasting damage on top of the actual hit, at least at the moment, but it had to have had some detriment to her. What it was, I would figure that out soon enough. So sue me for not knowing bug types that well. "Try ember again."

Pepper took a deep breath and shot fire out once more. But this time, the flame seemed less potent than it had before. Instead of a full jet of fire, it was a hose spray of it. Like, instead of a bullet from a gun, it was a paint ball? Whatever, the point was that it seemed a bit weaker. Probably due to whatever effect struggle bug had.

"Don't be afraid to play with fire here, Eloise. The paint on the floor and walls is fire retardant." As Burgh said this, Bud dodged on his own. "After the disaster of… Never mind."

The hell? Don't leave me hanging, man. Tell the story. I wouldn't mind if we put the battle on hold for storytime. Of course, that wouldn't happen, so I needed to figure something out.

I would admit, I liked puzzles and brain teasers and all that stuff, but only when I knew the answer or could look it up without consequence. So this little gym battle didn't bode well with me if I had to find a way to not just beat Bud, but all of Burgh's pokémon without too many losses on my part.

Unpredictability was a sin. Anyone that thought otherwise would be wrong.

Apparently gym leaders fueled trainers' passion about battling through some means? I sure didn't feel a thing except stress at the moment. Adding insult to injury, Joel watched my every fumble in real time.

Ember wouldn't work on it's own. That was obvious. At least we only had one other option to work with. "Pepper, try tackle."

She blew smoke out her nostrils and dragged a hoof on the ground like a raging bull would. The next instant, she shot forward and threw herself against Bud, pushing them both back enough that they almost hit Burgh.

"Fast," Burgh noted. Yeah, I said the same thing before. Pepper was damn fast.

"Ember, go, go." I panicked, but managed to get the key word out. Pepper jumped off of Bud and stood just inches away from him. Then came the fire. From point-blank, she roasted the swadloon for a good few seconds with just one breath, after which she retreated to our half of the battlefield. That had to have done something.

"String shot, up above." Burgh snapped his fingers and waited for Bud. So Pepper didn't do that much damage? It was super, super effective against him, though.

The little bug rose and spit out string just like Gummy did toward the ceiling. By gyrating his body, Bud managed to make a thick lasso out of string shot falling down to surround Pepper. Damn, and I though only Gummy would use it that way. Guess no one ever really was unique in this world.

"Down!" Burgh made a dropping motion with his hand, prompting Bud to throw his face down, in turn making the string lasso fall.

Pepper glanced back at me. I wasn't sure if relying on me would be the smartest choice she ever made. "Ember. Set fire to it." It was just string, right? Gummy's string got cut by his own razor leaf, so fire would be even better, right?

Pepper breathed ember onto the string lasso. In seconds, the small flames she speckled onto the material grew and spread along the thread.

"Impressive." Oh? Do pray tell, sir. How the hell on Earth was that impressive? Fire plus flammable object equals big fire, right? How many times must he have seen this strategy? "I didn't expect that small ember to do that. Wait, Bud?"

At that last remark, I looked to the swadloon to see him desperately biting down on the string shot still in his mouth. I followed the string to see imminent danger: the fire spread to all stretches of the string shot, including down the strand leading directly to Bud's mouth.

"No, no, that's not good. Use razor leaf to sever it instead!" Wow, did the fire get pretty big. Flame retardant didn't mean completely immune to fire, though, huh? So, this cocoon could possibly catch on fire with all of us inside?

"Pepper, I gotta hand it to you." I couldn't not keep complimenting Pepper's wildfire. Mainly because of this: it spread so quickly that Bud couldn't help himself. He aimed his razor leaf at a section of the string shot still not on fire, but by the time the leaves came anywhere close to the string, it was already burning. So, the razor leaf became cinders upon impact, leaving the fire to jump all the way to Bud.

The fire engulfed the poor little swadloon. It blazed for only a few seconds before dying down. Once everything was done, Bud lay on the ground, making no effort to get back up.

"Bud's out," Joel announced.

"Indeed." Burgh walked up to his little partner and helped him stand. "You did great," he said as he returned Bud. He then tucked the ball into a small machine in the corner of the room, probably a healing pad.

That victory felt, I don't know, kind of bad? Like it was only due to luck that we burned Bud out of commission? Even so, Pepper dashed to my feet and yipped, glee clearly evident.

"I admit, that was very interesting. Nicely done." Did he really mean that? How many fire-types must he have seen in his lifetime as a bug-type gym leader? I didn't bother trying to read his face as I occupied my thoughts by looking at the char marks left on the floor from the burnt string shot lasso when it fell. Would I have to pay for that? "Are you ready for my next pokémon?"

No, not really. Of course I didn't say that. On a side note, it really only then hit me: was Burgh going easy on me? He seemed well acquainted with Joel, so there was a possibility. But my brother wasn't one to make life easier for me, I would tell you that for free. I wasn't one for honor or pride, but it would be pretty embarrassing if Burgh wasn't giving his all since I still struggled.

"Enkori, let's have fun." As in _encore_? Burgh sent out an orange hermit crab under a hefty rock. A dwebble, apparently. They couldn't learn encore, though, right? It had to just be a pleasant sounding name. But really, I've met a Bud, Jack, Gus, Miles… Well, I was partners with a Gummy, so never mind.

"Fun, he says," I said under my breath. Enkori posed a threat to Pepper as a rock type. But it wasn't like I had any better choices of my four. My tepig already had a battle, so she probably could have used a break, no matter how short. I immediately removed Tempest from the equation and got left with Rose and Gummy. And of the two, only one stood a chance against Enkori in theory.

I sent Rose out without tossing her ball. I just wasn't in the mood to. As expected on my part, two thumps resonated throughout the room, one being Rose and the other, of course, her log. This song and dance sure got old. We had to find another Bulk Up Fitness to go to. Not like I had the balls to go and cancel her membership now that everything was said and done. Even still, I held my breath and waited to see what would happen next.

**~X~**

From the ashes formed from self-destruction

rises a phoenix most undeserving

of a second chance that she threw away.

It's better to not try and not fail than to try and fail at all,

so I clipped the bird's wings from the start.

Yet she keeps trying to fly.

The sky stretches eternal, yet she keeps trying to fly.

She learns much too late the satisfaction of success

and jumps and falls and hurts herself in her endeavors,

but holds her tongue and catches a breeze of hope.

On it, her wings are freed, but she knows not how to use them.

So she falls again, but gets back up to keep trying

until finally, she breaks through the cage I put her in.

She immediately plunges herself into deep, unknown waters,

yet doesn't waver in the slightest while radiating a brilliant glow.

* * *

Author's note: After this and the next chapter, I'll try to steer clear of too many battle-heavy chapters. Even still, let's see how Eloise deals with this.


	9. Crashing Forward

If _I don't know what I'm doing_ wasn't my personal motto, I didn't know what was. I was traversing extremely thin ice to a faraway treasure named victory, and I didn't know how to ice skate, much less swim. I had nothing left to lose, though.

"Use smack down." Shouldn't Burgh have let me go first? That didn't matter as his dwebble lifted her shell, causing a small rock to fall out. She grabbed it and took aim, shooting the stone straight for Rose.

"Pound it back?" That had to be my first inclination? Again, my thoughts didn't matter as Rose turned to me and cupped a hand around where an ear would have been had she been human. Curse this big, echoey room. Of course she couldn't hear me. Of my team, she was the one who heard me at my normal volume the least, it felt like.

So, as Rose wasted time and attention on me, the rock hurtled towards her and smacked her back. She face-planted onto the rainbow floor as the rock fell by her feet. Yikes.

"Rock polish while they're still down."

I didn't bother looking up to see what was happening on Burgh's side due to occupying myself with worry on Rose's behalf. I wasted my effort as Rose sprung back onto her feet and waved a fist at Enkori.

"The, the rock." I flapped my hand at the stone Enkori and her trainer so graciously gifted to us. Might as well have used it. I really hoped Joel didn't think any less of me with my sorry display. "Rock throw."

I got a grunt in response. Apparently hearing my order and satisfied with my decision, Rose bent down and picked the rock up. With its small size, she took it in one hand and wound it up like a pitcher.

Rose let it rip once I heard Burgh say, "Faint attack." His tiny partner scuttled up to us like nothing doing, completely avoiding the rock soaring overhead at a relatively absurd speed. Rose let out a pissed-off growl that paralleled the grumble I made.

Next thing we knew, Enkori stood before Rose and the two had a staring contest for a second. Only a second.

Rose shook her fist again and thrashed a bit, probably angry at missing her move. I would admit, it was a pretty good throw on her part. Rose flinched away first to swing her leg up and kick Enkori's rock-shell like it was an old television acting up.

I couldn't help but laugh a little. Rose knew how to do that well. Be it out of genuine joy or to stop myself from having a stress-stroke, it mattered not.

"Oh, dear." Even Burgh laughed a little.

Enkoro cried out loudly. At the commotion, I looked to the dwebble to see Rose's kick's aftermath: it uprooted the shell from her back. The rock went into the air for a few seconds before landing just a foot to the side of Enkori. Several smaller rocks spilled out of the hole she used to be in. Guessed that was where she stored her smack down ammo stash.

"Enkori, calm down. It's still there. Just put it back on and use faint attack again." So this happened before?

Well, I saw an opening. "Rose, grab that thing and use rock throw again!" I was a genius. I managed to say that with full confidence, too.

Rose hummed in agreement. Much faster than Enkori could match, she snatched the shell and lifted it above her opponent. The dwebble looked on in what I assumed to be horror. Not showing any mercy, Rose threw it down and wiped her hands together to get the dirt off.

"Ah!" Burgh took a few steps forward and held a hand out. He didn't expect that? I took full credit for it. Boy, that felt good. Except for the whole, y'know, hurting Enkori part.

The dwebble lied on the floor, trying to reach for her shell like Rose did her log while groaning. Speaking of, I was kind of impressed that Rose hadn't tried using it this whole battle so far.

"Enkori, I assure you, your rock will be fine. Please, use struggle bug and follow into faint attack!" Did he not have a good handle on this pokémon? But he was a gym leader.

"New guy?" Joel called out. I almost forgot he was with us.

"Yes, I caught her a few weeks ago to better match beginner challengers. And she enjoys painting, too," Burgh answered. She liked painting? Upon closer inspection, I thought I saw her right leg with a stain of green paint.

Rose's shout snapped me out of my thoughts. Shoot, took my eyes of her for a second. When I looked back, Enkori latched her front pincers around the timburr's neck from the back, flailing around like Bud had, her shell left on the field. Her pointy legs must have hurt.

"Rose-" She hunched over and started panting. How much damage did that do? Enkori then shifted gears. Her front legs glowed with energy as she brought them down to strike Rose repeatedly on the head.

"Uh, uh…" What the hell? That wasn't fair. Rose couldn't reach the little bug from that position. More like a parasite. With my brain frazzled, I said the first thing to come to mind: "Stop, drop, and roll!"

Oh, hell, why did I say that?

"She's not on fire." Thanks for the obvious, Joel.

"Enkori, keep it coming." Burgh looked composed, but he must have been laughing at us on the inside. Had to have. Damn, I needed to figure out a way to think more highly of other people.

I had to carry through with what I said, lest I look like a complete idiot. In my head, I managed to make a picture where my command worked out. If only Rose could execute it. "Yeah, Rose, just fall and squish her."

"I'm sorry?" Burgh couldn't follow? Well, he didn't have to. I heard my brother stifle a laugh.

That could have came out more eloquently, though I assumed Rose wasn't one for style. With a huff, she dropped onto her back like a wrestler would and slammed Enkori to the floor. She proceeded to roll around, squishing the shell-less dwebble to the ground every complete revolution she made.

With a final cry, Rose came to a dead stop and sandwiched Enkori to the ground one last time before bouncing back on her feet. After finally letting go, Enkori wobbled in place, dizzy and hurt. "Oh, my…"

Suck it, Burgh. I would never say that out loud, though. "Low kick, go, go, go!" We only had so big a window to go crazy. Rose sang, giving me what looked like a thumbs-up. She sauntered up to Enkori and kicked her once upward and once coming down.

"Are you alright?" A little too late to ask that. Burgh waited on his dwebble, who continued to stand with quivering legs. Finally, her perseverance petered off as she fell to the ground, not getting up.

"She's out," Joel declared.

"I believe so." Burgh walked onto the field and picked Enkori's shell up. He kneeled before her and slid the rock back on to her, after which the dwebble kind of perked up. "Rest easy. You tried your best."

Burgh returned his pokémon and went back to his original spot. He added Enkori to the healing pad with Bud. With a chuckle, the gym leader removed from his belt another poké ball. But, it wasn't one of the three he had taken from the drawer just earlier. It was one that had been there the whole time.

"Hm, I didn't expect things to go so well for you." I'd chalk that up to luck, sir. "Beginner or not, that's not what truly matters. Do you know what a gym leader's job is, Eloise?"

What the hell was he going on about? Shouldn't he have given this spiel at the beginning? To avoid talking, I shook my head no.

"My job is to push trainers like you and their pokémon to their limits and allow them to perform at their best. That experience, that rush, that excitement and happiness you get during battle?" He pointed at me.

Me? Well, I rode a two-win-streak high now, so I guessed he wasn't wrong. Could I say I was better than a gym leader? I hadn't noticed before, but my hands were sweatier than usual, and my heart kind of pumped.

"And that bond and connection you feel with your pokémon. Those feelings, I wish to always experience during battle. Everyone has a hidden potential within themselves. I love seeing them come to fruition, be it on canvas or the battlefield." Burgh kind of laughed to himself. "But enough about that. I think I should up the ante for you."

No, no, I was fine with this. I didn't need to feel a thrill from battle. Just victory was fine with me.

"You have proven yourself quite skilled despite your inexperience. Or perhaps you were being modest?" No, I wasn't. We were here thanks to sheer luck. "I had planned to use a less experienced pokémon to face off against you to match your level, but I think I should push you a little harder. So…"

So? Why did I have a bad feeling about this? What was he planning?

"Sylkain, if you'd please." Burgh tossed his poké ball and out came a leavanny. To his new partner, he made a pinching motion with his thumb and index finger, whatever that was supposed to mean.

"Really? Burgh, maybe rethink this." Joel held an arm out. Miles continued to stand unmoving, to my surprise. I thought he'd try to pick a fight with this leavanny given their similar statures.

"No. Let us see what you are truly made of Eloise." He was going to decimate us, wasn't he? "Against my greatest partner, come at us with everything you've got."

What the hell? I didn't sign up for this. Fuck.

Though, I'd admit, I kind of wanted to see the outcome, win, lose, or otherwise. In this moment, I actually wanted to battle.

"Rose? Can you win this for us?" I asked as sweetly (and lowly) as I could when my timburr walked up to me. She pounded her chest and smiled. Even so, I could tell she was out of breath. I could believe she loved battling, no problem there. Winning too, of course. But so much as to risk injury in an attempt to prove her superiority? I asked her that as a joke, too.

I didn't get a chance to call Rose back, even if she complied. Burgh spoke up. "Are we ready?"

Unable to say no out of fear of looking like an idiot, I let Rose step back up and ready herself. Burgh's leavanny towered above her and looked anything but menacing. He wore a big goofy smile and held an arm up as a greeting. Wow, his arms looked like literal leaf blades.

"Let me see your very best come to life on this battlefield!" He sure was one for theatrics. "Sylkain, razor leaf."

The leavanny threw several leaves like discuses at Rose. Though, they all missed. More correctly, none of them actually hit her. Instead, they all shot at her and each aimed at one of her limbs. The concavities of each crescent-shaped leaf hugged Rose and pushed her down with the force they flew at her at. They pinned her to the floor, giving her little option but to squirm in place and whine.

"Uh…" We had nothing to work with. None of Rose's moves could work outside of close quarters.

"Go in for aerial ace." Next thing I knew, Sylkain shot forward with targets set on Rose. Once close enough, he swung his arms and squished her to the ground, much like she had Enkori.

Between all the swings Sylkain took and Rose's wriggling, the razor leaves pinning her down came loose. One to say the obvious, I said, "Get out of there."

"Come back and use a string shot and swords dance combo!" That was overkill.

"Rose-"

I heard a small grunt and stopped my sentence when I saw Sylkain spitting out string at Rose. As he did this, he waved his arms in a smooth motion, then clashed them together a couple times before holding them out like I knew Miles did his. In that short time, Rose became completely wrapped in string shot, looking like a giant egg with her as the yolk.

"Wind it up!" Burgh sang, drawing a circle with his index finger. In a similar manner, Sylkain yanked the Rose cocoon into the air and swung her around like a ball and chain. I wished my timburr luck that she didn't get motion sickness.

What the hell was I supposed to do? Did we lose already? "Rose?"

Sylkain didn't even grunt as he swung Rose around with ease. Round and round she went, and I hadn't a clue how to get out of this mess.

"Returning your pokémon is always an option," Burgh told me. I looked to him and felt my brain fizzle out a little. Why was he telling me that?

"Uh…" The leavanny showed no sign of letting up. Reluctantly, I pulled Rose's poké ball out and returned her. Once I did so, Sylkain literally cut his losses. He sliced the string shot, still in his mouth, with his sharpened blade-arm, letting the thing fling to the far wall of the room.

Who to choose, who to choose. I reached into my bag and sent out someone who wasn't Pepper.

Tempest. Of course it wasn't Gummy. I would have been fine with the pidove had we not been facing off against a gym leader.

She trilled louder than I ever heard before and flew next to me instead of opposite the leavanny. "What are you doing?" I sang through grit teeth. Tempest cooed again and bumped against my bag. From what I had seen of her, she was antsy in battle. But that wasn't an option right now.

"I know. I'm sorry, but just try your best or something. I'll figure how to make it up to you later." Why was I bartering with my pidove?

"Shall we resume?" How courteous.

"Yeah," I shakily answered. With that, by some miracle, Tempest took the field and puffed out her chest. _Please keep that up. One of us needs to be confident_, I thought.

"Why don't you start us off?" Could this get any worse?

"Air cutter." One, two. "Air cutter." And so it began.

Tempest flew up and flapped her wings like mad. And of course, she waited for the final call. Meanwhile, three others watched on in confusion.

"Air cutter." Oh, the humanity.

"What the hell are you doing?" Joel snapped.

"Is everything alright?" Burgh asked.

Oh, if only they knew. Before I could try to explain, Tempest launched her move, which swiped at Sylkain's face. Part of the leaf-cape behind his head chipped away.

"No, no, stop, stop. What are you doing?" Joel continued to hold his incredulous face. "She only used it once, even."

Burgh also paused to hear my answer. Fuck. "Uh, she… needs reinforcement."

"Reinforcement how?"

"She… has to hear it three times before she gets it." It sounded stupid coming out of my own mouth, and she was my pokémon.

"This is a first," Burgh said while pinching his chin. Was this really? Statistically speaking, this couldn't be the only case of the weirdest short-term memory in the world, right?

"What?" Joel refused to believe me. But he just saw it in action!

"Do you want a handicap?" How kind of him, but nothing would help us. I was pretty sure everyone in the room, including Tempest, knew that.

"No." I needed to change the subject. "Gust."

Tempest lazily flapped her wings while still standing on the ground. Whether or not she would fly while using her moves seemed random at best.

Just as I expected, Burgh snapped back into the swing of battle with my command. "Sylkain, leaf blade."

He was aware that wasn't a good match-up, yes? Though I supposed that didn't matter. "Gust." Tempest, why did you hurt me so? "Gust!"

My pidove let loose a small twister of wind just as Sylkain maneuvered behind her. Tempest looked around in panic just before the leavanny struck her.

"You good?" Of course she wasn't, but I still asked it. Tempest cooed and slowly stood. "Uh, quick attack."

"Let's see how you work around this, Eloise. Grass whistle." Sylkain put one of his arms in his mouth and swiped it left and right. It emitted a smooth, calming tune that sounded like a pitchy flute.

"What?" In an instant, Tempest fell to the ground like she had no bones supporting her. The only thing preventing me from thinking she was dead was her loud, cooing snore.

"Do you not know what that does?" Joel asked. I looked over and noticed that Miles sucked on a chesto berry. My brother was chewing something too. I felt a yawn coming on, but the sheer pressure of this situation kept me more alert than I thought I could be. I actually did know. That didn't help me stay calm, though.

"I apologize if this seems unfair, Eloise. But, Sylkain, aerial ace."

Seriously? Could he do this? Well, of course he _could_, but _should_ he have? "Tempest, wakey wakey. Please get up."

The leavanny paid my pathetic attempt to wake her no mind and came forth to strike. The reaction? Tempest got flung back and hit the wall, whizzing right past my head. The kicker? She didn't wake up.

"Tempest, Tempest," I sang lowly. Maybe she got knocked out.

"Sylkain, one last time." The leavanny used aerial ace again and whacked Tempest back to my feet.

"She's out, enough," Joel called. Finally, the pidove opened her eyes and remained splayed on the floor. She barely got a scratch in. Just the air cutter from earlier, but that seemed so long ago that Sylkain probably recovered already. Well, at least she did that much, I'd give her that.

Since Rose already went, I tossed Pepper out. My tepig took a stance and narrowed her eyes at the leavanny's feet. God, I needed a miracle. "Ember."

"Dodge and grass whistle again."

"What?" My body went numb as I whimpered that. Why was he using that again? It wasn't fair. It wasn't _fair_. If Pepper fell asleep, we lost. Even with Rose, he would just send her to dreamland, too. There was no way out. "No."

My face flared up and I clenched my fists. We couldn't avoid this. It was music. How could Pepper dodge that? Why didn't he just start out with Sylkain if he was going to do this? So unfair. So wrong. I might as well have never left my room today. Burgh said that he loved drawing out people's potential in battle? What a liar.

I blinked rapidly. Each time I opened my eyes, I looked at something different. In my panic, my ears flooded with the sound of Sylkain's grass whistle and everything I saw was but a fleeting image. One that I vaguely recalled was of Burgh squinting at me.

I knew I sucked. He should have just ended it now.

The music stopped and I eventually settled my eyes on a sleeping Pepper. My heart pounded for all the wrong reasons. How was anyone supposed to do this if he kept using grass whistle?

"Struggle bug," Burgh ordered while making a shaking (strangling) motion with his hands.

"You can use an i…" I didn't hear the last bit of what Joel said.

The leavanny approached Pepper and grabbed her. He then shook and whacked her like mad, another thin web of energy coating her. This went on and on as my throat closed up and I soaked in the shame of this situation.

An eternity later, Pepper's eyes shot open and she squirmed in Sylkain's grip. He released her, letting my tepig fall on the ground like a sack of potatoes. She oinked at me.

I looked at my now-awake tepig and felt nothing.

"Are you alright?" Burgh asked.

At the sound of his voice, I forced myself to regain some composure. Anything to make this a minuscule iota less painful than now. "Pepper, e-ember "

"We can't have tha-"

The fire shot out before Burgh finished his sentence. As each speck of it landed on Sylkain, the leavanny hissed and smothered it. "A-again." In fact, keep using it, Pepper.

"Stop that in its tracks. Use string shot."

Sylkain jumped up and let loose another sticky thread that wrapped around Pepper's snout. In shock, she sent out a small flame from her nostrils, which didn't come close to burning the string.

Every time before she used ember, Pepper took a deep breath through her mouth. So, with the string shot, all we had left was tackle. Could our future have looked any more bleak?

"Tackle," I barely said.

"Block with your arms."

Pepper charged for Sylkain's shins, which he blocked by holding his arms out like a shield. Pepper bounced off upon impact, but charged in again without waiting for me.

Why wasn't he using grass whistle? He could so easily win if he did, but he didn't. But in this temporary moment of safety, I managed to calm down and focus on Pepper. I had to, needed to. Wanted to.

Boy, did Sylkain's arms look sharp. What an appropriate name, leaf blade. Pepper kept tackling and the leavanny kept blocking. Well, she really didn't have any other options. My tepig cried out and flinched her head away before resuming her barrage. In that split moment, I noticed a cut along her forehead. Blood didn't gush out, though, thankfully. Were those things seriously that sharp? That injury could scar!

Since she kept going, I assumed she was alright. Hopefully. Besides that, it hit me: sever the string shot bind with Sylkain's own blades. "Pepper, aim for his arms."

That sounded stupid. Perhaps my pointing at my nose made my intent clear. Miraculously, it worked. With a vigor, Pepper charged in a couple more times with her head oriented quite specifically. When she jumped back by my feet, the string shot lay on the floor where she once was.

"Very nice." Was Burgh really trying? So lackadaisical. Maybe he was being sarcastic? Why didn't he just end this since it was obvious he could?

Even with that train of thought, I didnt let it bog me down. Despite my combination of embarrassment, panic, and braindead-ness, all my focus and energy went to Pepper. We had to do something. At least make one good hit so we could say that we tried before going home.

"Ember!"

As long as he didn't order grass whistle, I wouldn't break like I did just a minute ago. Maybe we had a chance.

"String shot!"

Why did he keep using that? It didn't matter as the two moves met half-way, the ember igniting the string and blazing toward Sylkain, who severed the link immediately.

"Ember!" I sounded like a broken record. What else could we do? I could have sworn I saw Pepper nod and smile.

"X-scissor." New moves at every turn, huh? Sylkain defty dodged our move and came at Pepper with his arms forming a cross.

"Get-"

Sylkain jumped in front of me and behind Pepper, unintentionally cutting me off due to shock. A nice whiff of grass and paint filled my nose as he just missed stepping on my foot. Just as he brought his arms down, Pepper looked back and jumped forward in time to dodge.

"Amazing." I wasn't sure if that was praise or surprise, but I meant it. Pepper was damn fast, as noted several times before.

"What agility this tepig has. No matter. We'll put a stop to it." Burgh snapped his fingers. "String shot one last time. Encapsulate her."

I knew what move I didn't want Gummy to do any more. "E-"

I stopped myself as Sylkain executed his move like he had done to Rose earlier. The string wrapped around her, making her into a little mummy ball. I paused to think as Pepper became more and more covered with string shot. All was lost if she got completely spun with the string. Over the grunt of Sylkain, I heard Pepper oinking in panic, muffled like crazy, akin to how my inner voice sounded right now.

But she was oinking? So her mouth wasn't muzzled. And she was coated with highly flammable string shot. We had a way out. "Ember!" I said at the top of my lungs. "Just go, ember!"

From the blob of white where Pepper once stood, I heard a loud cry, followed by a subtle crackling. In an instant, the blob flared up and blazed a blinding red. Sylkain cut his move short again and hopped away from the small inferno. He would have toppled onto me had he gone just two feet to his right.

"Swords dance. Wait for it to die down, then go in!" Burgh shouted across the field.

"No, Pepper, can you hear me?" I didn't know why, but my heart pounded and I didn't care what Burgh or Joel thought of my dumb commands. "Tackle, tackle! Over here!" I waved my arms in the air like an idiot.

From the fire, I saw a faint shadow at the center, probably Pepper. She adjusted her aim and wasted no time charging with reckless abandon at her opponent. I ran away for safe measure.

"What?" I heard Sylkain make a similar sound of surprise. Well, because of how much string shot she got wrapped in, Pepper burned so brightly and with such a large flame. My little tepig let out a war cry and smashed into the stunned leavanny. He fell down, slightly charred. Pepper bounced back and grunted, still on fire.

"Go, go, again! Go, Pepper!" I cheered. We could win if the string shot kept burning. At least, I hoped. Pepper cried out and went forth once more, this time even faster than the last.

"Sylkain, you need to hurry." Burgh put a hand to his mouth. "Is that really just tackle? Maybe it's flame charge."

"Go!" I felt like an idiot. I even shouted that over whatever Burgh just said.

As Pepper neared Sylkain, I couldn't help the smile forming on my face. Such a clear shot, and so super effective. My god, this felt _good_!

Pepper leaped into the air, still flaming, while the leavanny only just got to a kneeling position. "No, that's not just a flaming tackle," Joel said as Pepper reached her maximum height and arced down at Sylkain. "That's heat crash!"

On cue, Pepper fell onto Sylkain, flame spreading from her to him. A plume of fire engulfed the two and turned the room orange. Quickly after, the fire died down and revealed a satisfied tepig standing atop of a woozy leavanny. How amazing.

"Oh!" Burgh walked forward a few steps. "Can you get up? Get _up_," he said with a strange emphasis, not looking too worried.

Next thing I knew, Sylkain shot back up, launching Pepper off of him with leaf blade. Damn, of course that was too good to be true. The way they acted, was this planned? Had to be.

Pepper landed on her feet and stood again, ready for battle. "Was that true? Heat crash?"

She squealed and braced herself, coating herself with fire. Sweet, a third move! This was getting interesting. Then, she launched herself at Sylkain, square in the chest.

He didn't react much, though. When Pepper bounced back, all he did was pat his chest where he got singed a little more. "What?"

"You'll have to do more than that to get to Sylkain, Eloise." Well, if that wasn't a testament to how literally weak Pepper was in comparison to the leavanny. "Razor leaf."

"Heat crash!" Oh, was I going to abuse this new move. The leaves disintegrated as they came into contact with Pepper's fire. Again, she hit his chest, and again, we got the same result.

"This is how things should be. Do you feel the excitement?" I didn't bother answering, nor did I want to. "X-scissor!"

"Heat crash!"

"If it didn't work the first, second, and third times, why the hell are you using it so much?" Joel snapped. It was a miracle to me, so let me have it.

Sylkain parried Pepper with his move. She bounced off again and went into the air still on fire. All three times, it seemed as though she only hit him in the chest, causing very little damage. So what if we aimed at one of his flimsy-looking limbs? Break the armor first, then what's beneath.

"Go in again, and aim for his arm!" Should have said legs. His arms were practically swords.

Pepper changed her plans and hurtled towards him again, only this time aiming lower and to the left. They made contact before Burgh called something else out. Sylakin fell down again.

On the ground, the leavanny lay writhing in pain, with Pepper standing atop his right arm. A splat of char ruined the rainbow floor beneath them. So I guessed right. A torso like Rose's log and arms like twigs.

"Leaf blade."

Couldn't we call it my win already? Any longer and I would probably lose. Sylkain brought his left arm up and struck Pepper off of him. He then stood and held his injury.

A resilient one, Pepper gazed with determination at her much larger opponent even after taking the hits she had. I needed to figure out how to treat her after this. Rose and Tempest too.

"X-scissor." I prepped my throat to give my very obvious next move, but stopped when I saw Sylkain readying himself for an I-scissor rather than an X. Well, he really tried to make it work and came out with a T-scissor at best. In other words, he couldn't make his right arm work.

"Way to go, Pepper!" I had to give it to her. What an impressive turn of events. "Heat crash his other arm!"

The tepig charged in with guns literally blazing again. When Sylkain shot down to hit her, she jumped just in time to avoid it and land on his extended left arm. He fell to his knees and hugged both arms close.

"Ember, please!" I didn't remember the last time I shouted like this. Quite frankly, in this moment, I didn't care. With a large inhale, Pepper shot out fire from her nose that pelted Sylkain until she ran out of breath. After the last flame hit, the leavanny collapsed face-down. "Did we-"

"Don't get cocky," Joel said. What exact purpose did he serve for this battle?

"Grass knot," Burgh whispered just loud enough to echo in this room with the strangest acoustics I've ever heard. Still lying down, Sylkain stabbed one of his now-crispy arms into the floor, casting a small fissure, and summoned a small vine to rise from the cracks. It moved on command and wrapped around Pepper, then dangled her in the air by the torso.

"Huh?"

"Razor leaf, nonstop!" He snapped his fingers and Sylkain followed. Leaf after leaf shot at the suspended tepig, who was unable to move an inch. What the heck?

"Can you heat crash? At least charge it?"

"Don't let up!"

"What?" Fuck. The razor leaf kept coming and coming, all until the grass knot dissipated and dropped Pepper. When she hit the ground, she didn't even try standing.

"She's out," Joel called.

But we were doing so well. All we had left was Rose. Chewing my lip, I returned Pepper and sent out who remained. When the timburr took the field, I found some relief in her abandoning her log and taking a proper stance opposite Sylkain. Okay, I could do this. We could do this. Just had to try.

"Rose." I looked at the floor after recalling that grass knot. "Look down."

"This is the final stretch. We're both down to our last pokémon. How will this end?" Some theatrics on him. "Aerial ace!"

"Rock throw!"

"What the hell is that supposed to do? There's no rock," Joel said.

In a split second, Rose leaped ahead and stomped the fissure Sylkain's grass knot made. A small piece of whatever hard material the floor was made of chipped off. Hooray for her strong legs. If only her arms would follow. She took it and hurled it at the charging leavanny, stopping him in his tracks.

"Again!"

"Not so fast. Grass knot." As Sylkain struggled to stand, he plunged his burnt arm into the floor again. However…

A wail of pain broke the suspense. Instead of piercing the floor, his arm bent against it and kind of shed a few charred bits of leaf. It looked akin to shoving a plastic straw against a wall. Thank God for Pepper.

"Switch to swords dance!" For the first time this battle, he had urgency in his voice.

"Low kick, hard as you can." Rose sauntered over and drove her leg into his shins, toppling him over. As per her usual way of using it, she kicked him again swinging her leg back to the ground. "Rock throw!"

Overwhelm and drown, ha! Now we had the power. Rose snatched another shard of the floor and spiked it like a football over Sylkain's back. It shattered upon impact and made me wonder, _He's going to be okay, right?_

"Ah, leaf…" Burgh trailed off. Instead of finishing his sentence, he smiled and waited for the dust to settle. In this situation, that was a tad literal.

Rose stood atop a fallen Sylkain. The bug didn't try to get up, though his eyes were wide open and he was smiling. Joel stepped up and held his arm out. "Enough. Sylkain is out. That means, Eloise is the winner, victor over Castelia Gym Leader Burgh."

I stared in the general direction of my brother in awe. Did that really just happen?

"Congratulations." Burgh stood before me with his hand out, a hand that had just been put to his smiling mouth in a shushing motion with a glance at my brother. What the heck is with these two? "That was a spectacular battle."

Unsure if he really meant that, I shook his hand while watching Rose offer her hand to Sylkain. "Thank you."

"I admit, your tepig's heat crash caught me by surprise. Aiming for his arms was a pretty clever idea. Your other two deserve no less praise. Rose, was it? She is as energetic as a vigoroth. And Tempest is surely unique."

Wow, did Tempest get the short end of the stick. Either way, it had yet to sink in that we won. Did we really? Why didn't Burgh keep using grass whistle?

"Hm... I'm sure I know what you're thinking, Eloise." I forced myself to make direct eye contact. "You're wondering why I didn't start with Sylkain, and why I didn't use grass whistle again."

Read my mind and a half. I nodded and braced myself for the answer.

Burgh chuckled. "Do you remember what I told you just before we started the battle? Well, my job is to push trainers to their limits and test their strength accordingly. My job isn't to obliterate challengers and hold a reputation as the hardest gym leader around, though some, including my peers, might disagree with my standing." Read my mind again. "I aim to bring the best out of challengers and see their true strength and bonds with their pokémon. I'd like to believe all gym leaders feel this way."

"Really now?"

"Yes. And I saw the potential you and your pokémon have right before my eyes. You have great instinct with strategy. Like how you used Enkori's shell for rock throw, and our string shots as ember amplifiers." I failed to see how that was true. "Your pokémon all carry their own strengths that make them powerful in their own rights. You just need to be more confident about it. That's the only thing holding you back."

I really couldn't tell if he really meant what he said, or told this to all of his challengers. I really hoped it was the former, even though it was likely the latter. "Thank you."

"With that, I present you the insect badge." He pulled a small medal from his pocket and presented it to me. Looked like some green bug wing with gold outlines. Staining a corner was a smudge of dried paint. Gee, thanks.

I took it and held it in both hands. We really won?

"And I'd hope you keep that little thing close. Don't go losing it… or getting it stolen." He murmured the end a little.

"Huh?"

"Just put it in your case." Joel whacked my shoulder and juggled two poké balls in a hand, one with one of my stickers on it.

"Sure." I followed and safely placed this small treasure in my previously empty badge case.

"What with that poké center vandal going around, stealing gym badges as part of his havoc wreaking. I can't begin to count how many people I've had to look up in my database and give another badge to since this fiasco started. Such a hassle on everyone's part." Burgh put a hand to his forehead. "This serial vandal is such a menace. Not just badge theft, but graffiti and abandoning hostile pokémon in rooms to assault others?"

That stoutland from a while ago crossed my mind. Woof.

"Someone has to find a way to catch this guy. How is he so elusive?" I didn't know Joel cared so much about this issue. Was he tagged by the vandal too?

"This gym has been swamped with work lately, from badges to battles to gallery contributions… But that's not to say you can't come back for a friendly match, though, Eloise. Don't be afraid to come back for another battle if you so please." Burgh offered his hand again while laughing off what he said just then.

I shook it off and returned Rose. "Thank you. And sorry about Sylkain…"

"No worries. His leaves will grow back in time stronger than ever." Burgh patted his leavanny's shoulder. "And I'll tell you this Eloise, since you seem like the shy type: Sylkain is my strongest partner. You and your pokémon genuinely won one over us, and I commend you on that. So don't be so hesitant and worried. Be more confident."

I gulped and tried to stop his words from entering one ear and exiting the other instantaneously. He had to have gone easy on the strength for us, but it still felt like a true victory. I really did want to believe we did well. "Thank you."

"I wish you luck, the both of you. And I'm rooting for you, Joel." Come again? With that, Burgh waved us off and Joel pushed me out of the gym.

* * *

The pen squares off against the sword after being cornered

and the two end up in a stalemate.

The pen writes a heartfelt ballad, and the sword cuts it up.

The sword takes an overwhelming swing, and the pen draws a shield.

They duel and duel, the sword quite persistent.

And so, the pen runs away and hides until the next clash.

But through countless ties one after the other,

the pen starts to take on the soul of the sword.

I take the new pen in my hand and cut this journal to shreds

then walk on the battlefield with my head held high,

brandishing a new weapon under my belt and wielding it proudly.


	10. It Stinks

Author's note: And we're back. Many apologies for the unexpected break. Life got a little crazy and I had to step back for a while, but I'm here again. At least we ended last time on a high note. I can't say concretely how the schedule looks from now on, but this will update regularly again, if not a little slowly. A big thank you to anyone still reading this!

* * *

Things really knew how to end in ways I would never expect. I sat opposite my brother in a booth in the canteen of the poké center with Pawn on Joel's left and Gummy sitting on the table, in front of me. Everyone else was getting healed after our bout with Burgh.

Gummy stood before a bowl of pokémon food. He ate one pellet at a time, chewing each piece for a full minute like mad before swallowing it and doing the same to the next one. I saw why he liked gum. He looked so at peace with it that I stopped myself from almost petting him.

"Just go to Asperita. It's the normal-type gym." Joel drank from his cup of coffee.

"Where are you going?" Riding on my victory high, I actually wanted to see if we could win the next gym, so I didn't argue with his tone.

"Nimbasa. Don't tell your dumb friends." I knew who he spoke of and couldn't agree more. Maverick was a headache and a half.

"You're not getting Pawn back yet." Not like I was going to ask. I felt like I could push myself further even without his stick to my back.

"What happened to Munna?" I had to know. I didn't get an answer as Joel stood up and ushered Pawn to do the same.

"Just go. You managed to one-up Sylkain. I'll give you that." He threw some money on the table and turned around. He then walked to the exit of the canteen and waited for Pawn to catch up.

His gallade lingered behind and rooted through his fanny pack. He pulled out a pack of gum, a full restore, and a ticket (for a boat ride to Virbank City, according to the text printed on it) and pressed them into my hands. With a wink and smile, Pawn turned and caught up with his trainer. Not the strangest gift he's given me, but which one of them was this from?

Gummy made a noise. I looked at him and saw he had polished off all his food. My sewaddle sniffed at my hand. Knowing what he wanted, I opened the gum pack and took two pieces, one for each of us. Guess that was life now.

Without much to do while Pepper and co. were being healed, we waited at the table. Waited and waited and waited, until the monotony got broken by Sylviana plopping into the bench Joel previously sat at with unnecessary flourish.

"Hey, El."

"Where have you been?" A whole month apparently elapsed since I last saw her. I was surprised her style hadn't radically shifted like it usually did.

"I just got off the phone with my dad. We're gonna meet up soon for lunch. His company's based here, remember?"

Oh, yeah. Sylviana's father ran his company in this business hub known as Castelia City. Over a decade ago, his tech company created _Spar Stat_ and _Stat Star_, the two currently most used apps in Unova, ranking highly in other regions as well. That explained her silver-spoon syndrome.

"I'm so sorry I haven't been around. Did anything happen to you lately?"

Oh, did it. Though not one to openly brag, I only shook my head. "I actually beat the gym here."

"What?" Sylviana stopped twirling a strand of hair around her index finger. "You what?"

"I know. Even I can't believe it, but I beat Burgh this morning. Check it." I dug out my gym badge case from my bag. After a month of vacancy, the thing finally housed a glittering beaut. I presented my insect badge with pride.

Sylviana brought her head down to get a close look. But with a cry, she flinched away and clutched her heart. "Oh my god, what is that thing?"

She pointed at Gummy, who continued to chew his gum while staring off into the distance. Did she really not notice him when she got here? "My sewaddle. His name's Gummy." Man, did I regret calling him that. Upon hearing the name, he made a cute noise and turned around to face us.

"Oh. Well…" I didn't know Sylviana didn't like bug-types. Or maybe it was just Gummy. "Is he chewing gum?"

"Yeah," I answered with a strange lack of embarrassment. I blew a small bubble with the gum in my mouth.

Gummy twisted his face like he was trying to mimic me. He sputtered and drooled before finally spitting it out on the table. Well, even if he did manage to blow a bubble, his fangs would probably have popped them.

"Oh, why?" I yanked a napkin from the holder to my left and swiftly grabbed the gum. I almost punched Gummy in the face because he leaned over with his mouth open, as if to reclaim the wad to resume chewing. "No, don't do that."

He whined and went limp on the table. A sucker, I gave him another piece to chew. Once in his mouth, Gummy stood back up and acted as if nothing happened.

"What?" Sylviana looked dumbstruck.

"Please don't judge."

"Sure…" With that, Sylviana turned her head away from Gummy. "Anyway, congrats on the badge, I guess. I knew you could do it. You always pull through, don't you?" Her voice was flat. Oh, Gummy, why did you have to ruin the moment?

"Thanks." I opened the badge case to feel the cool metal and convince myself again that I won.

"Well, what now?"

"Uh…" Honestly, all I had in mind for the rest of today was waiting for everyone to be healed and going back to my room.

"Let's go out. Like I said, I was gonna go eat lunch with my dad. Come with me." Sylviana stood up and walked over to pull on my arm.

"Sure." With my response, Sylviana let go of me and took the money Joel had thrown on the table.

"Is this yours?"

"Oh, yeah." I stared at the money and only then realized why Joel left it: he made me buy his coffee for him. At least he paid me back. Why he didn't just buy it himself to begin with eluded me.

"Well, here. Don't forget about it. I know how careful you are about money." Yeah, unlike you. I took the bills she passed me and counted them. Counted a hundred-times the actual price of the hundred-poké coffee I got him. Was this a mistake? But why would he overpay me? Though, not to sound spoiled or like that Shawn guy, the ten-thousand poké didn't mean as much as it could have to me since I still had money from that battle meet-and-greet back in Nacrene City.

"Thanks." I slipped the money inside my bag and returned Gummy.

"Let's go to my room first, though. I need my purse."

I let Sylviana drag me to the suites. I was a little surprised that she was staying at the poké center instead of a nice hotel around these parts, but I guessed the nature of Castelia City left her few options.

She pointed to the last room of the hallway. Each door had a warning poster stuck on it, similar to the ones in Nacrene about the serial vandal. The first door I passed, the white paper was ruined by a mysterious yellow stain that had a gag-inducing odor.

"Oh, my god, it smells disgusting here." Sylviana pinched her nose.

I looked around and noticed several other doors with their posters stained like the first. I was reminded of the peanut butter on my door before, and felt my mind go blank. Did the vandal tag this center today? This couldn't be good.

As we continued down the hallway, I kept an eye out for my suite. The poster on its door didn't have a stain on it. Please let that mean I was safe.

We finally made it to Sylviana's room. I coughed and held my tongue as her door's poster reeked to high heaven. Sylviana slapped her hand over her mouth and slid her card key and opened the door.

To say I thought my hair was going to disintegrate would be an insult to the stench due to not coming close to its magnitude in the worst way. The odor hit me like a wall, worse than when I walked past garbage trucks compacting their contents. The wall was quite literal: clouds of thick green-gray gas drifted out of the room and flooded the hallway with this hellish stink. My eyes watered, and I tasted a smidgen of bile at the back of my throat.

I felt a push on my back. Sylviana hid behind me and used me as support as she coughed a lung out. Dear God, what the hell reeked?

"This is horrible!" Sylviana said through short breaths.

"My eyes are melting." I could still smell it when I breathed through my mouth.

"I hate this." Sylviana sobbed and squealed while gripping my hood.

I looked into the room while holding my breath. Inside, I saw various purple bubbling puddles (had to have been some type of poison, but that'd be super messed up and dangerous) as well as rotting filth sprayed across the walls and floor. Gas that had yet to pour into the hallway swirled in the air as a thick, dark cloud. I wanted to hurl so badly, but forced myself not to.

At least that was the only difference between my and her rooms after being hit by this absurd vandal. But a dangerous stoutland or a stink bomb and poison? I couldn't decide which was less worse. I supposed the latter since the stoutland wouldn't have troubled me if I hadn't chased after it.

Spray paint coated the walls. Most noticeable were the phrases _GIVE UP GO DIE_ and _SHIT TRAINER_, just like my room had. Of course other unsavory scribbles existed, but I couldn't keep my eyes open enough to squint and read them because of the stench.

I didn't care about the broken television or ripped up bed or whatever else ruined the room. Nothing could compete with this disgusting smell. Finally, the air cleared out enough for me to see Sylviana's purse on the floor, next to a puddle of purple. Luckily not touching the stuff, I would add.

Realizing she wasn't clutching onto me anymore, I turned around and saw Sylviana on the floor, against the wall and crying, not that I could blame her. This whole hallway was ruined.

I gulped and cupped my hand over my mouth and nose. I hated this, and didn't really want to do this, but I had to. For Sylviana, I dove into the room at my highest speed and lunged for the purse lying on the floor. I grabbed the thing and pushed myself out the door with my eyes glued shut.

As I reached out for Sylviana, I heard people. "Is anyone in the hallway?"

Three men plus Nurse Joy emerged from the miasma clouding the hallway, all wearing gas masks. From where or how, I didn't care. The nurse and one of the men approached us.

I grabbed Sylviana's hand and pulled her up the best I could without crushing it or inhaling the putrid air. The man took her other hand and helped me help her to her feet.

"You need to get out of here, get some fresh air!" He went behind us and pushed us forward, through the hallway, and straight out the back exit of the poké center. On our way out, I managed to notice several other doors wide open, two of which I remembered having the weird stains on their warning posters; stinky gas poured out of them as well.

But then, sweet relief. City air never felt cleaner as I gulped it in, not worrying about the loud noises I made breathing. When I calmed down, I looked around. Dozens of other people stood around me, gasping just as wildly as I. Sylviana sat at a bench holding her throat.

"You okay?" I approached her and asked.

"No. I never want to go through this ever again. Ever!" Her voice came out hoarse and shrill.

"I feel you." _Sucked_ didn't begin to describe this situation.

Before silence overtook us and I became scared to break it, I held Sylviana's purse out to her. Only then did I notice it was the kind-of-cheap, very small purse I got her for her birthday a couple years ago. I didn't know she actually used it, given the collection of expensive ones at her disposal. That made me feel kind of good.

"I got this. Is anything missing?"

Sylviana snatched it from me and shoved her hand inside it, after which she spread the zipper opening wide and shook the purse upside-down. Nothing fell out. "It's empty."

"What was in it?" The vandal apparently stole gym badges, but what else?

"Just some money. Cash, I mean. The only cash I carried." At least it wasn't her credit cards.

"How much?" Man, my throat ached.

"100,000 poké."

Glad I wasn't drinking anything. I sputtered and said, "That's a lot."

"Not really. It's whatever." To her, not the average man. But at least she wasn't too shaken up over it.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, that's all I ever put in this purse."

"Why not steal the purse too?"

Sylviana scoffed and looked at me funny. "El, I don't know how else to say this, so I'll say it. This bag is cheap. It must have cost you, what, 5,000 poké?" On the nose.

"Oh, yeah." She got me there.

"Well, at least I still have it." She patted the bag and looked up at me.

I felt a smile coming on, but dropped it immediately. "Except for the fact that it smells like garbage now."

"Oh." She dropped the bag, causing me to laugh.

"Attention, everyone. Please." Nurse Joy approached everyone and waved her arms in the air. The crowd, which had been complaining nonstop about the stink, ceased chatter. "I apologize for this turn of events. It seems as though Castelia Poké Center has been hit by the vandal again this month."

_Again_? Who the hell was this guy?

"This time, as you all noticed, the vandal has unleashed major stink bombs in several rooms. Their accomplices have been rounded up"—Nurse Joy motioned at a makeshift pen holding several exhausted garbodor and large skunk pokémon, a couple people in hazmat suits approaching them carrying food—"and will be dealt with accordingly."

Speaking of, I wondered what became of that stoutland. I heard poké centers tried their best to re-home or find kinder trainers to take in pokémon found abandoned there. That was radical and all, but I wasn't sure how I felt about that mangy menace getting a cozy new home after giving me some gray hairs just because he was left in my room by some asshole. "How much time does this guy have?"

"I don't believe this happened to me," Sylviana said, her voice coming back. "I didn't deserve it." I didn't think anybody really did, though I wondered what part of this experience shook her up the most.

"Now, as we clear out the poké center, I ask all of you to follow me so we can eliminate the odor the skuntank have created." The nurse pointed at a bunch of tables lined up with spray bottles and buckets of chemicals and tomato sauce under the dim overcast sky. This wouldn't be fun.

**~X~**

Night fell before I knew it. I sat on the edge of my bed with the television on in the background. My hair was still a little damp from the shower I took after I doused myself in the industrial-strength stink neutralizer the poké center provided.

The whole center got the cleaning of a lifetime, so much so that once everyone was allowed back into the building a couple hours after the incident, it was as if nothing had happened. Except for the people whose suites got directly tagged having to change rooms, there was no trace of the vandal ever being here. Burgh and Joel were right in saying that this guy's a menace.

Just barely being drowned out by the cooking show Pepper urged me to stay on playing at a moderate volume was the pitter-patter of rain on the window. Fat droplets smashed against the glass covered with a thin layer of condensation. Those clouds from earlier were at work. It was very dark outside except for the faint glows of lightning going off every so often.

The humidity and events of today were enough to make me clock out. So I did. I fell back onto the bed and shut my eyes, praying that Rose wouldn't do anything accidentally destructive as I drifted off.

But just as I found the right position to lie in, a loud thunderclap sounded off and made me jolt up. God, I hated thunder. Despite not wanting to be, I got very jumpy whenever random loud noises rang. Case in point, I sat up on the edge of my bed and was about to stand when another crash cut through the air, making me let out an involuntary yelp. At least the thunder that followed immediately after that one drowned my scream out. Though had I not been clutching the sheets, I would have fallen off the bed.

Now awake, I resorted to cranking up the volume on the television and watching it with my pokémon. Not the worst way to spend the night, I would admit. Tempest was already asleep, nestled in Rose's hands as my timburr did squats at breakneck pace. Odd, but as long as no one got hurt, it should have been fine.

Louder than the thunder was a solid knocking. It took me a while to realize that it was the door. Someone was calling for me. Probably Nurse Joy given this poké center's extremely recent nightmare. That didn't make it any easier dragging my feet over to answer them.

Much later than when the knock started beckoning me, I got up and walked to the door. Through the peephole, I saw nothing, so I slowly opened up. On the other side was nothing. No one. Seriously. Not even a note posted on my door or something left on the mat in front.

Looking around, I managed to catch a glimpse of a wave of long, now-bleach-blonde hair before it disappeared around the corner. I knew for fact that it was Sylviana, but why she didn't wait for me to open up left me puzzled.

Usually, I wasn't one for going out of my way to check on things that didn't necessarily concern me. However, given that Sylviana was a very upfront person combined with us having not talked for a month made me consider following her.

Back inside my room and before the television, Gummy slept, leaning his large head against Pepper. My tepig was struggling to not nod off, sitting on her hind legs and watching Rose lift Tempest like a weight, moving her head up and down to the same rhythm. Okay, it seemed like they would be fine, and it was very likely that the vandal was nowhere near this poké center anymore, so I grabbed my room's card key and walked out.

I gently closed the door and shoved my key into my pocket. It was pretty late, so there probably wouldn't be too many people up and about to worry about avoiding. Sylviana could only have gone so many places. The direction she was heading in was opposite that of her suite, so I didn't bother checking there.

Around the corner that she passed was a small hallway with walls of just windows that led to the foyer. The rain splat against the panes unrelenting, and the occasional lighting strike lit up the dark sky. I made sure to take long strides to make my trip as short as I could, praying that another thunderclap wouldn't scare me to death.

I didn't know what this poké center's floor plan was, but it couldn't be that hard to find where Sylviana went. She sure as hell didn't go outside in this weather at this hour. With the fluorescent lights buzzing above me, I decided to just walk around the building and try to keep my head up. The battle with Burgh from this morning came to mind, and I lost myself for a while. Still so surreal.

Eventually I found myself at the exit to the battlefields. The door was ajar just a tad. Another minute of walking and I would have made a full round of the first floor with no sign of Sylviana. That was, until another thunderclap struck.

I flinched and composed myself as soon as I could. But before I took one step to get away from the noise, I heard a roar. A deep, raw shout that was mostly drowned out by the thunder and rain. Only mostly. The voice rang quite familiar, so I took a risk and put my hand on the knob of the door leading outside.

My gamble did pay off. Once I creaked the door open enough to peek around, standing right at the edge of the small veranda overlooking the battlefields was Sylviana. Rain dripped from the awning above dangerously close to her, just missing the tip of her shoe.

She just stood there, unmoving, staring blankly ahead. On the ground just next to the door was her Xtransceiver, the brand-name wrist strap that she adored ripped apart with threads coming loose, as if she tore it off her hand and threw it. The screen was undeniably cracked. She never was one for screen protectors despite how many times I recommended it to her. But then again, she was one to upgrade her Xtransceiver whenever the latest model came out, so there was that.

Lighting caught my eye and I started counting in my head to prevent myself from being startled again. One, two, three, one, two… No, no, four, five… Damn it, Tempest. I made it to an odd eleven before thunder came again.

I didn't flinch this time, so I took the time to observe Sylviana. Just as the clap came, she shut her eyes and parted her lips with her brow furrowing. She lurched forward, shoulders and back like a turtle shell from the angle I stood at. Her hair fell and obscured her face, not like the lighting of the place helped any. And then I heard it.

This thunderclap lasted only a second before the rain overtook it, but once it did, something shrill filled the air. It struck me to the core and made me want to retreat back to my room. For the moment, I felt weightless, and pins and needles sank into my legs. An unintelligible string of syllables came out until it devolved to a brainless high note of a scream.

Then it hit me: that was Sylviana. Screaming into the storming night after playing ding-dong-ditch with me? I didn't even have time to think much of that before my pounding heart overcame my brain. Never had I seen her so… distressed and messy.

Before I even realized it, another shout of thunder hit us. Sylviana harmonized with the clap with another resounding scream that was just a few degrees off of what I assumed blood-curdling was. Once it subsided, she relaxed her body and leaned against the wall beside her.

Rain kept falling, even heavier than before such that I thought it was enough to mask her shouts alone. I definitely wasn't meant to see that, so I decided to turn tail and pretend I never saw anything. However…

"I know you're there, El," she said calmly. "You came here because I knocked on your door?"

I nodded, then realized that she couldn't see that; she kept her gaze over the battlefields the entire time. Knowing that I couldn't even dream to match my volume with the rain, I slowly walked over to her. Once just an arm's reach away, I said, "Yeah. Something happen?"

Saying anything about what I just saw was very likely the wrong answer. She tucked some hair behind her ear. "Something like that. I wanted to talk to you, but then I realized it was pretty late. Thought you were sleeping already."

"Nah," I hummed, probably gone unheard. Unsure whether or not I was dismissed yet, I remained standing by her side. "Anything bad?"

To be honest, I was used to letting Sylviana vent at me, and I didn't mind that. Since we were neighbors in an apartment building, our moms pushed us to hang out together when we were younger. My mom always invited her to come over and play. And always meant always. Whether I was doing homework, playing video games, or whatever, I had a bunch of memories of Sylviana being there with me and just talking.

Most, if not all of those conversations were about her. Sylviana loved hearing herself talk, and she loved talking about herself, if I were to be brutally honest. How her day was, the latest gift her father gave her, what silly antics her eevee and deino got up to lately, the last person to annoy her… She told me of all of that good stuff. She particularly enjoyed talking about that last one. I was her word garbage can, so to speak, or however that metaphor went.

But I really didn't mind it. Hearing her regale me of stories of her life, one an unquantifiable amount of times more interesting than my own, was so interesting. I was scared of talking to other people and bit my tongue for as long and hard as I could to avoid any and all trouble that could arise from it. Sylviana was the absolute opposite. And I loved listening to her tell me about all the things she experienced that I couldn't even dream of doing. It was like reading some fantasy story, despite the tales being more humdrum than you'd think.

So yeah, I definitely got my own kick out of her venting. Probably not the healthiest or kindest reaction to it, but I would never admit this to her.

Very unlike how she usually talked to me, Sylviana hesitated. She hugged herself and closed her eyes. "You can say that it was bad."

Now she's the one being roundabout? This wasn't good. If I was sure of anything, it was that she wasn't one to be reticent. Unsure of what else to possibly do, I implored, "What was it?"

Sylviana finally turned to face me. Mascara ran down from her eyes, and it probably wasn't from the rain. Lightning sparked in the distance again. Shortly after, Sylviana said, "Three, four, five…"

She counted and I just watched. Shortly after, she snapped her head up and took a deep breath. As if on her cue, thunder exploded once more, and she dropped her jaw and _screamed_. Since I was so close to her, the thunder didn't completely drown her out. Her shout was raw and long-lived, making my heart stop for the entire duration.

The thunder died down very quickly, and Sylviana composed herself in no time. I stared off to the side to try to ignore what just happened, but it was pretty hard to. A creaking wood board and a high heel stepping on it made me look up. Right beside me was Sylviana, arms still wrapped around herself. "This isn't fair…"

It came out more mumbled than I usually spoke, but I could still make it out. She was usually very transparent and vocal about herself. I couldn't even guess as to what brought this on, and I didn't want to. I didn't think I could handle imagining Sylviana as anything but flawless and optimistic. Anything else was my territory. "Oh?"

The rain kept falling, not letting up. In all seriousness, more sincere and humble than I've ever heard, she said, "Promise me you won't tell anyone."

After a moment's hesitation, I replied, "I don't have anyone to tell, so…" I needed to see this through. "My lips are almost always sealed."

Sylviana yanked on a strand of hair going over her eye and took a sigh just as heavy as mine were. "My dad…"

Nicholas Adina: corporate suit, tech-savvy businessman, absent father that made up for time with money. That was all I knew about him, all learned from the occasional news story I caught or by passing comments from Sylviana. Silver spoon, I always repeated in my head. The long pauses Sylviana kept taking between words knew how to tease me. There was only so much this could have led to. I stuck to my guns and kept quiet, though.

"He's crazy. You know how I was supposed to have lunch with him today?" Yeah, before the stink bombs. "Apparently he wanted me to meet someone then, and that was gonna be the only time I could see them in-person for a while."

The way her face twisted into one of disgust made me think she was going to spit on something, hopefully not me. In an instant, her brows furrowed and her tone went colder than her hands usually were. A baby thunderclap crackled, hiding the seething breath Sylviana took. I cautiously said, "They must've been some character."

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it, El!" Just as she said her nickname for me, she stamped her feet for a few seconds. "She's horrible."

"She?" I couldn't exactly help her without knowing anything. I couldn't even guess who _she_ was. Sylviana had no bad blood with anyone as far as I knew. In fact, everyone seemed to love her. She was just that type of person: ever smiling and always knowing just what to say.

At my syllable, Sylviana jumped to say, "My dad's f—His gi—Ahh!" Her volume exploded and she gave up talking in favor of kicking the nearby wall and screaming again. "His, that—_Her_."

I waved my hands in the air like an idiot to try to calm her down. "O-okay, her, her. Her… is bad?" If it wasn't very clear, I wasn't one for comforting others.

Sylviana didn't respond. She bowed her head, hair obscuring her face. Her shoulders shook and I raised a hand to touch her arm but stopped myself. What would I say? The rain kept falling loudly and the night was absolute darkness, making it feel as though we were isolated from the rest of the world right then and there.

Wind blew our way, whipping Sylviana's hair behind her. I finally got a good look at her since she went quiet. Her eyes were clamped shut and she bit her lip like her life depended on it. Undoubtedly, she was crying. Undoubtedly, I didn't know what to do.

So, I just put my hand on her back and gave it a steady stream of light pats. Awkward as it was, I kept at it and didn't stop. For her sake, I would try to hold out. Sylviana, everybody's perfect friend, was a sniveling mess before me. Perfection really was best left untouched because when it got just a tiny mar, it would fall apart so easily and so messily. And I didn't even know the cause.

Eventually, she calmed down and put a plug on her tears and sobs. When it happened, I stepped and looked away from her to try to convey that I would pretend that never happened. Instead of hitting me on the side playfully like she usually did and I thought she would, she sighed. I glanced back at her and realized that she was going to talk. She said, "I'm sorry you had to see that." It came out calm, steady, and even.

"Nah, it's nothing." What was I going to do, laugh at her?

Sylviana took a deep, shaky breath and let it out in a sharp sigh. "Can I get it off my chest to you?" I only nodded to keep the mood. "I should probably start from the beginning. It's just, the lunch planned for this afternoon, Dad wanted me to meet that bi—I mean, his… girlfriend."

Oh. No, what? I wasn't aware her father was on the dating scene, but I supposed it wasn't impossible. He and Sylviana's mom had been separated for years, but I wasn't sure if they were actually divorced. I never pried into the matter because why would I, but I only knew that the separation hit my friend hard.

But she was totally going to call her dad's apparent girlfriend a bitch. As much as I wanted to go _ah_ in a painful way at that, all I did was say, "Okay."

She continued, "And I never liked her. Mom and Dad were supposed to get together again. This bi—woman wasn't supposed to be here." She was trying so hard not to call her that. Made me wonder why. "It's not fair to Mom. I hate her!"

I never had family problems besides Joel poking fun at me, so I couldn't even begin to relate. I was the wrong person to tell this to, right? Or did Sylviana trust me so much as to let me privy to this?

"They've been seeing each other for years. Can you believe it, years? That's so fucked up!" Sylviana gripped the banister in front of her so hard, I thought she was going to snap it off. "And for the past few months, Dad's been trying to get me to like her. Every single day, he texts me and tells me how great she is. Before that, he hadn't even texted me for months, but all of a sudden, he does and only talks about her. He even gave her my number, and lately she's been texting and calling me and pretending to be my friend. She makes me so sick!"

It took me a while to digest what she was throwing at me, but it wasn't too hard to follow. Too bad I couldn't offer to drop any sage knowledge bombs on her. This felt like something out of a television show, but I didn't even know how to be an extra, much less a star's pillar. "Got it…"

"She's so bad. I never even met her, and I didn't even know about her until Dad called to tell me about her a few months ago, but now I'm told to love her unconditionally just because Dad likes her? It's so messed up, and I hate it. I hate her!" The fact that Sylviana had yet to even say her dad's girlfriend's name said a lot about her disdain for the woman. "And during today's lunch, she was there, apparently. Dad wanted me to finally meet her in person. He didn't even tell me that she would be there because he knew I wouldn't go if I did."

Wow, okay, yeah, that's kind of not right. He wanted to trick her into meeting someone she clearly disliked in hopes of getting her to like the woman? Ooh, yeah no. No matter the person, that just sounded like a bad idea at all. "A little messed up."

"Isn't it? And it gets worse. You know how I knew she was there even though I didn't go to the lunch?" She didn't give me a chance to shake my head. "Because Dad called me a few minutes ago to yell at me that I flaked on her. And when I tried to tell him that it wasn't my fault that I missed lunch with him, he yelled at me again and told me to apologize to her!"

Oh. Well, as far as I could tell, it wasn't really her fault, right? The vandal strike was out of her hands, and it seemed like her dad wasn't giving her any chance to justify her absence, which sounded pretty wrong.

"I tried to tell him what happened, but he just said that I needed to grow up and stop crying and running away. Like, what?" In any other circumstance, I would have agreed with those words. "Why doesn't he understand that I will never like her? Why can't he just get back together with Mom? This stinks!"

A sniveling and wailing mess, Sylviana buried her face in her hands. That was a lot to unpack, none of which I had I right to. I didn't have any credibility or knowledge to psychoanalyze or suggest anything to my vulnerable friend, not that I even wanted to. I just wanted her to stop crying and worrying. That wasn't her image. That wasn't Sylviana Adina. Bright, bold, and loud was the true her. And that made me feel like garbage. "I can't say."

After a long silence, she said, "That's why I've been so on edge lately. That's why…" She sighed and took a few breaths.

I squeezed her shoulder to help her calm down. "Yeah?"

"That's why… I've been acting like a jerk to you lately, haven't I, El?" I rarely used the word humble outside of essays I had to write for school, but I felt that Sylviana's tone was just that.

As much as I wanted to think otherwise, well, she kind of was pretty pushy and not helpful since I started my journey. Roped me into a couple non-consensual battles, left me to my own devices most of the way, whipped me with a sharp tongue a few times, and let me sink at the Nacrene "gym" to name some. Pushed me into some uncomfortable and inescapable and embarrassing situations, never really helped me at all… I should probably stop there. "Oh?"

"I have. That woman just makes me so angry, and I think I've taken a lot of that out on you. For that, and everything I've put you through on your journey, I'm sorry."

My mind went blank. This wasn't what I was expecting her to say. It explained a lot, though. But seeing Sylviana so vulnerable and meek, I whispered, "It's fine." Knowing her, things would be alright going forward.

"Really? Good. I knew I could count on you to say that." Okay, that last bit was a tad strange, but she was probably just overwhelmed with emotions, so whatever. Sylviana straightened out and looked out into the distance, rain and lighting still there. At another lighting strike, she rattled off a number sequence again.

Air now clear and Sylviana with little trace of her short cry from just minutes ago, I brought myself to ask, "What's with the counting?"

"I'm just good at timing this. Watch, thunder will hit when I say." Huh? My eyebrow perked on its own, but I kept quiet. Her voice was a little strained and still kind of low. Without warning, she said, "Now!"

I jumped at her call, then again at yet another thunderclap that got to me, the nth one tonight. Yeah, I got what she was saying mostly. Not sure how useful of a talent that was, though. "What do you get out of predicting thunder?"

Lighting filled the sky yet again. Sylviana just smiled and said, "It drowns out most noises. Sometimes I just want to scream and let everything out, y'know? But I don't want to wake the neighborhood."

A strange but not impossible form of catharsis. Letting it all out? I just bottled everything up inside.

"Eight, nine…" Sylviana took a deep breath and again, as if by her command, thunder boomed above. And with it, Sylviana let loose a powerful scream that went through several loud pitches, ending in a fried groan. Luckily I braced myself for it and wasn't too startled. In a very small voice, she said, "See? Why don't you try?"

"I think I'm good," I managed to say. She looked so fragile and weak, so unlike Sylviana. I wondered what would happen to her come morning. "You're really strong, Sylviana. Much more than I could even dream to be."

She gave a big smile that looked crooked given the poor lighting. Sylviana looked away and demurely played with the hem of her skirt. "Don't put me on a pedestal. I'd hate to let you down. Can't you just be happy for me?"

"You really are, though." At the compliment, she giggled and playfully pushed me. I thought, _Everything I wished I could be and more_.

The rain kept falling and the two of us just stood there watching it. Lighting and thunder let up in time, but Sylviana shouted every clap that came. I was tempted to join her a couple times. Eventually we retired to our rooms and parted. As I climbed into my bed beside a sleeping Pepper, I could feel it in my bones that tomorrow would be a good day.

**~X~**

The rain comes down in sheets, and I swear to count every droplet that hits the ground.

One, two, three, up until a hundred, and all the while people pass me by under umbrellas.

One-, two-, three-hundred, up until a thousand, and I haven't even gotten started yet.

One-, two-, three-thousand, up until a million, and only then do I realize how hopeless this is.

The rain drops are endless as they fall together, creating a symphony of white noise.

Even so, I'll keep counting one by one with nothing better to do.

Counting droplets becomes counting seconds, and before I know it, an eternity has elapsed

and it's still raining.

Then you come along and hold an umbrella over the two of us, a hand outstretched to me

and the rain finally stops.


	11. Different Faces

Come morning, I aimed to find Sylviana. After last night, how could I not. I made it to her suite and knocked once, twice, and waited one, two minutes for her. No answer.

Pepper, who wanted to stay outside of her poké ball when I tried to return her back in our room, nudged my leg. Come to think of it, it felt like my battle with Burgh made me a bit more of a softie towards my guys. My tepig did a small jump and walked in a circle with charm. Somehow, I just knew what to say. Flash back to the Skyarrow Bridge. "Cute."

And she was, actually. In response, she jumped again and smiled. Yeah, she definitely enjoyed the compliment, and I supposed it didn't hurt giving it to her every now and then. "Let's check elsewhere."

I had a feeling I would find Sylviana at the battlefields again. So, I set my sights there and got to walking. Pepper and I strode through the hallway lined with windows, sunlight pouring in. Lethargy threatened to overtake me from the warmth it gave, but I shook it off and continued.

The door to the battlefields was kept open with a brick as a door stopper. The veranda was unoccupied, but several trainers took to the fields for training. Of note, I recognized Maverick on one battlefield with two pokémon out: his bisharp and, strangely enough, Dean.

Why did he have Sylviana's hydreigon? At least that meant he might have known where she was. Reluctantly, I took baby steps toward him. I made it to where a referee usually stood when his loud shouting made me flinch.

"Edge, brick break again. Miles can do it even faster than you and with both hands," he coached. And he was right. My brother's partner was something else.

With a butthurt grunt, Edge took off and dashed at Dean with his right hand ready to strike. Lazy as I've known him to be, the hydreigon just yawned and shakily hovered in place. Maverick snapped, "Dean, flamebolt beam."

Flamebolt beam? What? Did he have a stroke or something?

Making me take back my comment somewhat, Dean charged flamethrower in one of his head-hands, thunderbolt in the other, and ice beam at his mouth. So, just a combo move? Oh, I thought I got what he was getting at now. From televised competitions past, I knew my brother came up with combinations like that as well.

I needed to know what the deal was between Maverick and Joel. This obsession of his with my brother was getting a little creepy. Did he want to be Joel, or did he hate him? At the same time, I didn't want to interact with this dude at all.

"Dean, try it again." Maverick rubbed his temples. "Edge, keep up, man. Even faster."

I said under my breath, "Doesn't Dean know tri attack?" Never mind asking why he had Dean in the first place.

"Dean, keep up, come on! I'm not spoiling you like Sylvia does, okay?" Maverick tugged at his hair. Under his breath, he muttered, "Teach him discipline? Keep him in shape, my ass"

How was I supposed to interpret that?

Before I knew it, someone spun me around and pulled me back into the poké center. When I looked up at the perpetrator, it was Sylviana. She smiled and linked her arm around mine. "Let's hang out today."

"Sure." It came out immediately like a reflex. With my monotone response the same as it always was, I let her drag me off. Despite only having said that, I really wanted to ask her what was happening to Dean. It seemed like Maverick was tutoring him or something, but then again, why would he have been?

As we walked through the poké center, I mustered up the courage to vocalize my curiosity in the time it took for us to cross the foyer and reach the front doors. "Hey, what was going on there with Dean?"

"Oh nothing." She waved it off casually and checked her nails. "Ricky's just watching him because I don't have the time to."

"Huh?" It came out without me meaning to. That seemed like more than just babysitting. And the time to? Why not keep him returned? Because I couldn't find the right words to ask with, I swallowed my tongue.

But luckily enough, she kept talking. As I held the door open for her, she walked through, paused, and said, "You know, they're all being so mean to me lately."

With that, she walked ahead. I scrambled to catch up and formulate a response. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, did you see my battle at Striaton Gym?"

"Restaurant," I corrected her. "You mean Odette and Mickey not listening to you completely?" That was a hard scene to forget.

"Uh-huh. I've been extra nice to them lately, but none of them even want to let me touch them. Only Dean and Celeste still care about me!" So she settled on her sylveon's name for once.

"Did anything happen between you all?"

"No. After our journey, I didn't make them do anything. All they did was laze around in their poké balls because they wanted to, but when I ask them to do a little something for me like battle, they just ignore me. I didn't do anything. They're acting so spoiled," said the pot about the kettle.

"Have you-" I stopped myself. Sylviana letting out a long, hot breath through her teeth shut me up. Yeah, better not to poke her any further, lest I end up making things worse. It would be better to bring it up later. Instead, I said, "Where to?"

A myriad of questions swarmed my head, but I forced myself to bottle them up. Was it really that her pokémon were completely at fault? What did she mean by _lately_? Why did she quit her journey to begin with? I knew so much about Sylviana, yet so little but couldn't bring myself to ask further. Not like I usually could.

She recovered faster than I thought she would. "Let's just walk around."

My face heated up when I realized we were walking with our elbows still linked. Sylviana wordlessly led us once we entered the fray known as the Castelia City streets in the morning, weaving through the crowd and pulling me along. I avoided bumping into any strangers, so I couldn't have been happier.

We made it to a street full of small shops. At the corner, I spotted the internet cafe I wasted a month of my life at. Ignoring the urge to ditch responsibility and face, I turned my head and focused on Sylviana. She beamed that perfect smile at me and pulled me ahead. "Over here. Let's check it out."

She stopped in front of a store's display window and motioned to it at me. I glanced over and perked a brow but kept looking. Behind the glass stood a meticulous arrangement of various posters and figurines for a game. _The_ game.

"Isn't that the game you like to play?"

After stammering for a few seconds, I opted to wordlessly nod. The words finally came to me in the knick of time. "Yeah, it is. Why?"

A bunch of _The Goddesses Above_ swag stared at me advertising an upcoming DLC pack. Prices for a preorder of a code for the new content as well as a new line of figurines were printed in plain black and white. And I damn near had a heart attack at the cost of any one item. Way more expensive than the last wave of goods they put out.

At first, I was impressed that she knew that. But then again, she came over to my place sometimes to vent about her day and get things off her chest. Whenever she did that in the past year, she walked in on me playing _The Goddeses Above_. She let me keep playing as long as I listened. Which I did, of course. The latter, that is.

"Let me get you one. You like that character, right?" she asked while pointing at a purple-clad figurine.

I always chose to side with the character Sylviana pointed at, yes. I didn't think she would remember that. I knew she didn't care about games, so the fact that she knew what she did made me pause. "I do. Wait, what do you mean by that?"

"What else? Let me get you a few, then. You don't have those ones yet, do you? It says they're new."

It came out of nowhere, and I sputtered trying to find the words to turn the offer down. There she went, willing to toss money around like it was nothing. You just don't borrow money from anyone, though. Even I knew that, no matter the person. "No, it's fine."

"I insist! To celebrate your first gym badge!"

She knew how to make things tempting, but I looked the other way. Come to think of it… she actually gifted me a bunch of stuff over the years. Accessories that she no longer liked that I kept in a box because I could never muster the courage to wear them or in case she wanted them back someday, cute little stuffed animals from days she hung out with other friends at some mall but remembered me, and various snacks that we ate together. Huh, I never really put much thought into it. With how often she did this kind of stuff for me, it became somewhat of a given. Oh, who's the spoiled one now?

"Really, I'm good," I sputtered out. "Thanks, though.

"You gotta live a little, El. You're gonna have major stress soon, or a panic attack like those times back at school. Remember the end of last year?"

Ooh, I kind of wished she didn't mention the latter thing. Although a multitude of incidents conjured inside my head at the mention from public speaking to unpredictable group projects, one particular event nagged at me. It was why I didn't even try fighting against winning the raffle that spurred this journey. I truly wondered who prospered from that experience. Sometimes being right wasn't all that mattered, at least to everyone else…

Which was why I would apply it here against Sylviana to drop the topic. "Thanks for having my back, really, but I'm sure."

"Sure you are. El, just talk to me whenever you're feeling down and I'll listen. I know I'm not that reliable, but I'll do my best for you." She grinned and wrapped her hands around my elbow. "Just tell me anything that's on your mind whenever."

I never considered confiding my feelings in anyone else, much less Sylviana. Even so, for some inexplicable reason, my sleeve started calling out for my heart. Not even realizing I was smiling until my cheeks started to hurt, I said, "You got it."

"Then are you going to buy it yourself? It says it comes out in a few weeks." She squinted at a poster on the display. "Just take some time off to relax, am I right? Your journey's not going anywhere."

As much as I wanted to do just that, I had a plan to adhere to: challenge the Asperita City gym. I needed to buckle down and push all procrastination devices to the end of my journey, after I get my eighth badge. "Maybe."

"Seriously?"

Some catchy pop-rock tune blaring from across the street caught my ear and stopped me from saying anything. An electronics store with a window display full of televisions streaming some music video drew me in. I subconsciously walked towards it, ending the previous conversation.

On screen, a small girl definitely younger than me dressed in an extravagant frilly ballgown took steps forward in a void as she sang. As much as I wanted to roll my eyes at the idol, I couldn't bring myself to once I started listening. "_The only weapons I wield are a pen and note, spent too much time dreaming I'm the protag of someone else's book. I'll burn my own story which is just white noise. This blank page stasis painfully defines my true voice_."

Color me intrigued. From the credits on the bottom-left of the screen, her name was Cover Paige. Definitely an alias. Again, eye roll, but I put in the effort to remember her handle. I would admit, I liked what I heard.

When the video wound down, it minimized and went to a corner of the screen of some entertainment show. Before I could hear what the host said or what the tabloid banner that rolled on screen read, Sylviana pulled me back. She raised a brow and asked, "What was that?"

Slowly, I answered, "I just thought that was kinda cool."

Sylviana smiled immediately and sort of chuckled. "That's great. She's super interesting. Check out all her music first. I'm sure you'll be her fan."

Nodding, I turned my back on the television and walked ahead two steps. "Where to now?"

She grabbed me by the sleeve and led us to our next destination without hesitating.

**~X~**

We met up with Maverick near the fountain at the north of Castelia after he called Sylviana when we were in the middle of lunch. Sylviana plopped down next to him on a bench and chatted his ear off while I sat a couple feet away from her.

Hip-hop filled the air. Number 1 and two of his friends danced off to the side. I folded two 1,000 poké bill's in my hand, waiting for this number to be over. Meanwhile, Sylviana and Maverick talked on and on, as if they were in a different world than I. I started to miss Pawn a little, remembering when he helped start my fascination with this dancing scrafty.

Eventually, Number 1 bowed and packed up shop. I went over and passed him the money and returned to Sylviana looking at me strangely.

"What was that?" She pointed at Number 1.

"Oh, uh, tradition." It sounded so stupid, and was.

"Sure." Thank God she didn't say more than that.

"Anyway, we were talking about where to go next." Sweet, no qualms there.

Maverick stood and pointed to an exit just over yonder. "Nimbasa City. It's the closest."

Remembering what Joel told me yesterday, I panicked and said, "Why not Virbank?"

"The hell, Virbank?" He approached me and crossed his arms. Oh, no.

"Uh, aren't there two gyms in that area?" Indeed there were, I actually knew.

"So?" What an asshole. He didn't have to stick around, but since he did, shouldn't he listen to my idea since this was my journey?

"Oh my god, shut up, Ricky." Yes, someone said it. "Why don't we go? I actually have something I want to do there."

"I need it." I couldn't have sounded less assertive. "I already have a boat ticket for it."

I presented the pass Joel gave me, tomorrow's date, the destination, and the ship name printed in bright blue letters. The wind blew, making me clutch it even tighter than I was.

"Where'd you get that?" Maverick snatched the ticket from my hand and held it just inches from his eyes. "This is for the Battle Boat."

"The what?" Indeed, it said _Battle Boat_ as the name of the ship it was for.

"You don't even know what it is? How did you get a ticket for it, then?" He stepped closer to me, causing me to back up and wonder how I would get the ticket back from his iron grip on it.

"What is it, first?"

"You don't know, El?" No, Sylviana, I didn't. "It's like the Battle Subway, except it's a boat."

I actually knew what that was. The train line in Nimbasa that went in a loop as trainers battled in each car for a win streak, yeah? "So it-"

"You board it and to determine which room you sleep in, what you get to order for dinner, whatever, you participate in a battle tournament." Maverick shook the ticket in my face. "Even just to pass the time, people battle."

Hence the name. It didn't sound like an impossible concept, so what was the issue? Well, besides the fact that my brother kind of tricked me into boarding this hell boat. Burgh acknowledged our abilities to some extent with my badge, but this seemed like something else entirely. I couldn't say that I whole-heartedly enjoyed battling so far, either.

"Tickets are expensive as shit." Shit wasn't that expensive. "Usually only rich people or really powerful trainers can afford tickets."

What the fuck, Joel? Did he want me to sleep in the brig all the way to Virbank? Only rich and experienced trainers rode this boat? No! That wasn't even close to my level!

But it was a free ride to Virbank City for me… And if I managed to win some staked battles, I would be well-off for a while. Except that was wishful thinking. I could only dream of that happening. Even still, maybe I could nab a room and stay holed up in there until I landed. Actually, that would work.

"Still, that's my ticket…"

Maverick held onto the slip like it was his. "Where did someone like you get this?" Again, what an asshole.

"My brother ga—Uh, I mean-" Fuck, I said the magic word.

"Joel what?" Maverick put the ticket into his own pocket, then shook my shoulders. Someone put a leash on him. All he cared about was Joel.

"Please stop." The audacity. I didn't care what beef or crush he had with my brother, but he shouldn't have involved me in his fantasy.

Sylviana smacked him upside the head and pulled me out of his grip. I would be eternally grateful to her for doing that. If only she wasn't his friend at all.

"He gave me the stupid ticket, and that's it," I reluctantly answered.

"Where is he now?" This guy really needed to slow down.

"I don't know." Never had I been happier lying.

"Stop bothering her." Sylviana pulled him back by the collar like a dog.

"Thank you." Please let that be the end of the conversation.

Maverick huffed and threw his arms up in the air. Drama queen much? "Whatever. I'm leaving."

And off he went. If I had just a fraction of his ballsiness, I would have waved ta-ta at him. But of course I forgot the most important thing. "Damn it, he pocketed my ticket!"

Asshole to the highest degree. Intentional or otherwise, he shouldn't have taken it from me in the first place. I really wanted to see the good in him, but every time I saw him, he proved himself to be a jerk in some way.

"Don't worry, I'll get it back from him." Sylviana patted my back. "It's for tomorrow anyway, right? There's time."

At least one of us was calm. If I lost that ticket, Joel would probably never let me hear the end of it.

"You know, the Battle Boat is actually an express cruise liner." That sounded like a contradiction. "It's like a cruise ship, but it also gets to Virbank in only three days. Other boats take like, a week." What kind of cruise aimed to be as short as it possibly could? Plus, a week was a long time. Wasn't there any way quicker?

"Good to know," I said lowly.

"Don't worry. I'll help you get it back." She winked and held an index finger up. Well, if she could get it back from him, she would be my hero most deserving of the world.

"What happened?" Speak of the devil. Maverick came up to us and crossed his arms. Didn't he leave?

"Ricky-"

"Take this back." He shoved something small and round into her hand. I caught a flash of black and yellow. Jewelry? The hell did he borrow jewelry from her for? Though, I vaguely, vaguely recalled her saying something about dating a guy named Ricky. Oh, God, don't tell me...

"Fine." She gave him attitude. I would have too. Not missing a beat, she shoved her hand into his hoodie pocket. "Give me it."

No way. They totally did date before. Damn. I felt so bad for Sylviana, ugh.

In no time flat, she pulled out the Battle Boat ticket and clutched it tightly. "You can go now."

How I wished I could talk to him like that! I settled for laughing at the situation internally.

"The hell'd you do that for?" He yanked it out of her grip and took it back.

"That's not yours."

"Not yours either." How dare he say that? He stole it from me!

"Give it back."

"Stop doing that."

"Hey!" She latched onto one half of the paper ticket.

"Enough. Let it go, Sylvia." Maverick did the same with the other half.

Didn't I get any say? Not like it was my gift. Did he love Joel so much… Never mind.

"You're burdening El." Sylviana tugged on it rather roughly.

"Stop it," Maverick said slowly. "You're going to rip it."

"I don't care!" They were like two five-year-olds fighting over a stuffed animal. "Just give it to me!" She pulled it one last time, taking it back from Maverick completely. However…

I stammered before saying, "Get it!"

Just as she achieved victory over Maverick, Sylviana let go of the ticket. It fluttered in the wind all the way down. Near the fountain. In the fountain.

It fell into the water.

"No!" Maverick kicked the fountain rim. I gazed at the submerged slip, some ink running off the paper. None of us even tried to save it.

"What?" Just like that, it was gone?

Sylviana reached her hand into the water and pinched the ticket in the middle. When she pulled it out, the cheap thing split into two soggy, sorry excuses of a Battle Boat ticket and fell to the floor. "Whoops!"

This sucked a whole bunch. In shock over this clearly avoidable situation, I remained silent and unmoving. You'd think this golden ticket would be made like gold, not cheap paper that wasnt even laminated.

"Not my problem anymore." Yeah, because he had literally nothing to lose except an undeserved privilege.

"El, I'm so sorry this happened." Sylviana brushed past the guy and scratched the back of her neck.

"I…" There was no right answer to this. Had I been in a room alone at the moment, I would have been swearing like a sailor. What did I do to deserve this? What would I tell Joel? "My ticket." I stared at the clump of wet paper on the floor. "What do I do?"

"I'm really sorry, El, but I have somewhere to be right now." Sylviana released someone from a luxury ball while reading the time on her completely new Xtransceiver and out came Dean. Wait, didn't Maverick have him just earlier? He picked her up and started hovering up. "I'll make this up to you later, El, promise. I'll send you a new ticket tonight!"

Before I could say anything else, Maverick swore and sent his braviary out. In a flash, the two pairs jet off in opposite directions, me left standing dumbfounded at what had just transpired.

**~X~**

I stumbled my way to a pier to the south of Castelia City. A lady stood behind a booth beside a cordoned-off ship dock. According to the sign beside her, some of the ships here went to Virbank City. I joined the queue and waited to get a ticket. After Sylviana took off, my pride kicked in and I sent a voicemail begging her not to buy a new ticket for me.

Finally my turn came up. Enduring the knot in my stomach, I stepped up and said, "Virbank City, please."

"Just a moment, please." With a smile, the worker tapped away on a computer. "It seems that the next few ships to Virbank are full up for the next couple weeks."

Wasn't that peachy. "When is the earliest one?"

"It will be… exactly three weeks from today. Friday the third. Is that okay?"

It sounded as if I had no other option. Three damn weeks just to go to Virbank City? No, just to board a ship that would take a week to sail to Virbank city. Unable to come up with a better solution, I nodded and took out my wallet.

"Would you like to board the Battle Boat or the normal line?" It was an option?

It took me no time to say, "Normal, please." One glance at the price for a Battle Boat ticket would say it all. Why the hell did Joel get it for me?

We finished the transaction relatively painlessly. I mindlessly walked off to the poké center with ticket tucked away in my bag. When I entered the building, I noticed a flyer for a battle meet-and-greet, just like the one in Nacrene City, set in an hour's time at the battlegrounds.

I could see out the center's back door from where I stood. People already gathered and mingled. Flipping a coin in my head, I decided that since I missed out on my Battle Boat debut, I would do this instead. I kind of wished Pawn was here to push me out the door like last time.

Outside, a battle raged on between an archeops and a magnezone. I skittered off to the side to hype myself up for this. _Just ask, _Wanna battle? _to someone_, I told myself.

The trainer of the magnezone yards away shouted, "Discharge!"

A crackling rang through the air, followed by a yellow filter. I looked up at the worst time, the brightness blinding me just as I noticed some wisps of electricity barely not touching me. Other people cried out from shock or pain or what have you.

Who the hell used discharge like this? How dangerous. I hid in the bent of my elbow just to hear the archeops's trainer command, "Sandstorm."

Dust and dirt flung into the air, making me even blind-er. At least it smothered the discharge, but did these two trainers not have any consideration for the other people around them?

"No!" Someone else called out. I managed to look over and saw a tall person reaching their arm out to the eye of the sandstorm.

I was gobsmacked at the sight: a larvesta blew in the air like a leaf. It went every which way as the sandstorm raged on, keeping a good twenty feet off the ground. Unnecessarily strong winds on this sandstorm.

"Please help her!" the person shouted.

Several people started shouting over each other. A few bird pokémon came from nowhere and shot for the larvesta. Hooray for good samaritans. As they neared them, the bug spurt out huge flames from their horns and spun in a wheel.

"Don't startle her!" the larvesta's trainer shouted. "She'll attack if you do."

"Cut the damn sandstorm!" someone screeched.

"It takes time to stop," the archeops's trainer said like he did no wrong. But Joel's archeops Raze could cut out his own sandstorm by flapping his wings a couple times.

An unfezant dove for the larvesta, causing the thing to coat themselves with fire that eclipsed the sun from the angle I stood at. They were apparently born of the sun? Well, there you go.

"Enough." Flailing her arms wildly, the larvesta's trainer finally sent out a crobat. "Tailwind!"

The huge bat cast powerful winds with slow flaps of the wing that caused the sandstorm to subside in a few seconds. Pleasantly harsh wind hit my cheeks, much more appreciated than the sand.

"Please catch her!" she called out. Bird pokémon and other trainers alike scrambled to catch the little bug. The crobat did too, but they didn't exactly look capable of helping with this.

And of course I had the worst luck. She fell in my direction. Out of instinct I held my arms out, but prayed so badly she wouldn't come to me. Meanwhile the trainer ran over as well.

As the larvesta fell ever so closer to me, I realized I would really have to be the one to catch her. With eyes on me from people who thought I would grab her, I squatted a little and tried to stand right at my predicted landing point.

Just when she was about five feet from dropping into my arms, her trainer appeared and held her arms above mine. The bug fell into her trainer's embrace, but probably from not properly bracing herself for impact, the woman flinched and pulled her arms back.

I thought she had this, so I already pulled my arms away. Luckily for her, I managed to flail them out in time to catch the larvesta. But damn, I forgot how heavy these things were.

I knew because my brother had a volcarona who he brought home as a larvesta that hated walking on our cold tile floor. So, Joel made me carry his pokémon around the apartment whenever he was unavailable. And the little guy squirmed whenever I did. No wonder I didn't want to touch pokémon. And damn was the thing heavy.

"Help." I wanted to drop her, but I forced myself to lift with my legs.

"Soleil!" The trainer recovered and pet her bug all over. Never mind me carrying her or anything. Since she was now safe, everyone who tried to save the larvesta went back to their lives. Meaning no one helped me carry the heavy thing.

"I'm glad everything's good, but can you take her back please?" Any longer and my back would give out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She took her pokémon back and cradled her like a baby. "Thank you so much."

"Right…" This girl carried her larvesta like she weighed nothing! That wasn't possible!

We remained standing next to each other, her hugging her larvesta and me awkward, for a few minutes. Finally, the silence was broken by some guy. "Hey, wanna battle?"

And of course he was talking to the larvesta girl. I slinked away as another person, the archeops's trainer, challenged her too. Well, her crobat was pretty impressive dispersing the sandstorm like that.

I returned to leaning against a wall and trying to muster up the courage to challenge someone. Never mind my numb arms. A minute passed, then another, then the official starting time of this meet-and-greet.

I clutched Pepper's poké ball as I saw someone with a venipede out. But before I took one step, the person got challenged by someone else. Why did this have to be so hard?

Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around and came face-to-face with a mound of white fur. "What?" I instinctively said.

"Hello." I stared at the source of noise: larvesta girl holding up and using her bug as a puppet. "Thank you again for helping us."

"R-right."

She put her pokémon on the ground and giggled. I took a moment to look at her. She was a tall and handsome woman, though probably only a little older than me, which clashed with what she just did with her larvesta right then.

"I'm Monica." She offered me her hand.

I shook it and said, "Eloise."

"Then, Eloise, why don't we battle?"

I armed myself with skepticism. Why battle me when there were people lining up to battle her? Probably because I was an easy target.

"Really?" How to weasel out of this one?

"Yeah, come on." She nudged me and stood on an empty battlefield.

Ever so reluctantly, I went opposite her, still gripping Pepper's ball. I opened _Spar Star_, but before it loaded, Monica sent her larvesta to the field. Wait, she didn't want to register this? Weird.

Without any better choices, I stuck with Pepper and released her. "Ember."

"You too, Soleil." The two moves collided and dissipated just as fast. "Pretty good ember."

Still weird. "Thanks? Try tackle."

Pepper charged forward. Just before she went close enough, Monica ordered, "Flame wheel."

Pepper tackled just as Soleil set herself on fire. The bug knocked my tepig back and rolled into her. Not letting it get to her, Pepper sprung back up after the hit. "Heat crash."

The blazing pig hurtled toward her target with unmatched speed**. **They collided again, and not too long after, both stood tall waiting for their next command. Time to fall into predictability on our part. "Uh…"

"Hey!" Monica called out and waved for me to go over. Unsure of what was happening, I complied and we met in the middle. "Why don't we stop here?"

"Sure." No qualms here, but that was barely three minutes long.

"I'm sorry. Soleil's pretty young, so she doesn't know too many moves."

I failed to see what that had to do with anything. Well, I witnessed ember and flame wheel. Maybe Monica felt like I did about Pepper before she learned heat crash. "My condolences?"

Monica looked at me funny before laughing. "Oh, no, I'm sorry. I could have made that more clear." She picked her larvesta up and hugged her. "I'm not interested in battles. I'm more into moves. I love seeing different attacks come out and light up the field and their users."

"Uh-huh." Whatever floated her boat.

"Heh, I can see you don't share my sentiments. No worries." At least she was considerate of other viewpoints. "But really, I was actually super excited when you sent out a fire-type."

"Oh?" I couldn't tell where she was going with this.

"Soliel only knows how to use ember, flame wheel, and flamethrower. What a diverse moveset, I know." She nudged me. "But she loves playing with fire. So I've been on the lookout for any chances to teach her new moves."

"Nice for her, then." What was _teach_ supposed to mean?

"So I actually wanna ask you a favor, Eloise." Monica squatted down and pet Pepper, something I had yet to muster the courage and confidence to do. "Can you and Pepper here help Soleil learn heat crash?"

It took me a while to come to. "What?"

"Please!" Monica begged.

"Uh, wait, isn't heat crash known for being unique to the tepig line?" I knew that much.

"Heh, don't worry about that." She rested an elbow on my shoulder. "I believe that any pokémon can learn any move with enough effort and drive."

Absurd. That just wasn't feasible. What a dreamer.

"Within the realm of reason, of course. I won't expect a vanilluxe to learn flamethrower or anything like that." Okay, that made more sense.

"I mean…" I couldn't come up with an excuse. At our feet, Pepper and Soleil nudged each other playfully. Scared of being the party pooper, I said, "If you think it'll work."

"It will. Have faith, Eloise." Monica tapped her chin. "But for humoring me, let me do you this. What does Pepper know?"

"Ember, tackle, and heat crash."

"Then let us try to teach her flamethrower and flame wheel! Her ember's practically a flamethrower already." She was so enthusiastic.

"Can she even?" This situation seemed a little too good to be true.

"Flamethrower for sure. But, flame wheel doesn't really come naturally to tepig, if I recall correctly." Monica stated intently at her Xtransceiver. For a second, I caught a picture of a tepig and some long-ass essay on the screen. The studious type, huh. "But it can't hurt to try."

"Define try." I didn't mean for my tone to be as nasty as it was, but it came out pretty rude. Monica only laughed and patted my shoulder.

"Come on. Follow our lead." She and Soleil walked back to the battlefield. She tossed a poké ball, sending out a pink jellicent. "Lacey, if you'd please."

Lacey appeared as if she were levitating. Without needing her trainer's command, the jellicent cast some glowing blue orb, then ate it, causing the glow to shift to her.

"That was aqua ring," Monica said, answering my unspoken question. "Just in case we actually scorch her."

"I don't know how I should take that."

Monica and Lacey giggled in sync. Wagging her index finger, the trainer added, "Just so you know, jellicent can't typically use aqua ring. But, Lacey can. Just gotta try and see if it happens."

That was the most vague advice she could give. Either way, I decided to stop questioning things and go along with her. We could only gain from this.

"Eloise, Pepper, watch Soleil first." She nodded at her larvesta. "Flamethrower!"

Soleil shot a huge stream of fire from her horns to Lacey. When it hit, steam immediately rose from the contact. Once finished, the jellicent emerged from the move as if she hadn't been hit at all. Was that what the aqua ring was for? Or maybe she was just that resistant to fire. Or both.

"Now you guys try."

I understood the concept of learning from example, but this sure as hell wasn't enough to work with. I looked to Pepper, who held a conversation with Soleil. The way the bug moved, it seemed as though she was coaching Pepper.

"Uh… Flamethrower?"

With an oink, Pepper took a deep breath, just like she did for ember. Just as hard, she exhaled and shot specks of fire out at Lacey. The move didn't even carry all the way through, dissipating before they even came close to the jellicent.

"Nice attempt. Just try it one more time." Similar to Monica, Soleil told Pepper something.

"A-again?"

"Hey, Eloise," Monica said just as Pepper shot out more flames. "Why do you give your commands like that? Be more convincing—no, confident, I mean."

"Uh…"

"Don't worry about anything." Monica stepped in front of me and smiled sweetly. Over her shoulder, I caught Pepper and Soleil spouting flames one after the other at a cocky Lacey. "Have faith in yourself. Otherwise, your pokémon won't have faith in you or themselves either."

I failed to see the correlation, but I gnawed on my lip to keep quiet. How did she know this to be true? Pepper didn't need me in order to be strong, did she?

"I'm sure you're a great trainer. Just own it." She turned around to the three pokémon on the field. "Or is it that you don't trust Pepper?"

"N-no!" That certainly wasn't the case. If anything, my tepig was more capable than I could dream to be, physically and emotionally. "She's amazing."

"Good." Monica stepped out of the way in time for me to see Pepper shooting out a wild yet concentrated plume of fire at Lacey. Upon impact, the jellicent squirmed and waited until she glowed again from her earlier aqua ring to settle down.

"Good how?"

She giggled. "Don't worry so much. Just give it a try. Even if you fail, no one's gonna laugh, at you or Pepper."

How was she so sure? Although I certainly thought that, I couldn't help but fall victim to Monica's convincing and reassuring tone. At least for the moment.

Without stammering or hesitating, I said, "Then Pepper, one more time, flamethrower!"

**~X~**

"Once upon a time," I can say this forever.

Crafting false realities is my one endeavor.

Past the walls I raise, there's no hidden treasure.

A boring life, let me have some pleasure.

My life story doesn't belong on a page, but...

What happened to the words I kept inside?

When they can come out, they run and hide.

What story can I tell when I close my mouth?

A blank page stasis hiding the truth I doubt.

The only weapons I wield are a pen and note,

spent too much time dreaming I'm the protag of someone else's book.

I'll burn my own story which is just white noise.

This blank page stasis painfully defines my true voice.

–Cover Paige, "Blank Page Stasis"


End file.
